Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president and former chief minister of Haryana Om Prakash Chautala passed away in Gurugram on Thursday. He was was 89.
Chautala suffered a cardiac arrest at his Gurugram home and was immediately rushed to hospital but could not be saved, party spokesperson was quoted as saying by PTI.
Chautala, son of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, was last was last seen in public during on October 5 during the 2024 Haryana Assembly election. He was seen at a polling booth in Sirsa’s Chautala village
Chautala, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Haryana, also holds the record for being the oldest prisoner in Delhi’s Tihar jail where he was imprisoned at the age of 87 till his release in 2020.
In 1987, Chautala was elected to the Rajya Sabha and served until 1990. In December 1989, he became the chief minister of Haryana, replacing his father who had been appointed as the deputy PM of India. However, he was unable to secure a seat in the state assembly within the required six months and had to step down in May 1990.
Chautala later won a by-election and briefly served as chief minister again in 1990-91.
After the Congress won in the 1991 Haryana elections, Chautala entered the assembly through a by-election in 1993. In 1995, he resigned as a protest against a deal to share Haryana’s water with neighboring states.
Chautala won a seat in the 1996 elections and became the opposition leader. INDL was formed in 1998.
In 1999, Chautala became the chief minister again, after the Haryana Vikas Party lost its majority.
Chautala had been a member of both the NDA and the Third Front, a coalition of parties created in 2009 that were not affiliated with either the NDA or the Congress-led UPA.
Born on January 1, 1935, Chautala has three daughters and two sons, including Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala.
His son Abhay Singh Chautala is an MLA from from Haryana’s Ellenabad constituency and has also been the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly from October 2014 till March 2019.
With inputs from agencies.
Link to article –
