Former Haryana CM Devi Lal's grandson Aditya Devi Lal wins against Congress' Amit Sihag in Dabwali by 610 votes

The Haryana assembly elections took an interesting turn as Aditya Devi Lal was up against distant relative Digvijay Singh Chautala from the Dabwali constituency. Both Digvijay and Aditya are related to former Haryana chief minister Devi Lal, who also served as India's deputy prime minister. However, according to the Election Commission of India, Aditya Devi Lal won against Indian National Congress' Amit Sihag by 610 votes. (Also read: Haryana election results 2024 today: Will BJP celebrate a third term or Congress stage a comeback?) 

Aditya Devi Lal, grandson of Devi Lal, is contesting has been fielded by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) from the Dabwali seat. He quit the BJP and joined the INLD just weeks before the elections and was given a poll ticket. Aditya Devi Lal's father was Jagdish Chautala, the youngest son of Devi Lal.

His opponent, Digvijay Singh Chautala, brother of former Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, will be contesting on a Jan Nayak Janta Party (JJP) ticket. He is the great-grandson of Devi Lal.

Born in 1989, Digvijay is the son of Ajay Singh Chautala, a seasoned politician who's held various positions, including Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MP, and MLA.

The 35-year-old contested the 2019 Jind by-poll Vidhan Sabha and the 2019 Sonipat Lok Sabha elections, but lost both times. He currently serves as the secretary general of the JJP in Haryana.

Digvijay Singh Chautala has said that he is confident that he will win the seat with a big margin. He is also spending a lot of time in villages while campaigning to learn the problems of the people in his constituency.

"My main aim is that time should not be wasted amid the election routine. Along with this, I should know closely the basic needs and problems of the people of the area where I am contesting the election," Chautala told news agency ANI.

"It is my fortune that the families here treat me as their younger member, love me, and I get a chance to go to places in the entire belt and spend the night," he added.

Dabwali assembly constituency

Dabwali seat falls under the Sirsa Lok Sabha constituency. Strategically located at the Haryana-Punjab border, Dabwali is approximately 60 kilometers from Sirsa city and 40 kilometers from Bathinda in Punjab.

As of the 2011 Census, Mandi Dabwali's population was around 62,207, while the smaller village of Bharukhera had a population of 2,184. Fast-forwarding to 2019, the total number of voters in the Dabwali constituency stood at 1,57,211, including general, overseas, proxy, and postal voters.

Tragically, Dabwali is also known for the devastating fire incident on December 23, 1995, which claimed approximately 442 lives, mostly school children, and injured 160 others. The incident occurred during a ceremony organized by DAV Public School at Rajiv Marriage Palace, where a synthetic tent caught fire due to an electrical short circuit.

The JJP, headed by Dushyant and Digvijay's father and former MP Ajay Singh Chautala, is contesting the polls in alliance with Chandra Shekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram).

Polling on the 90 assembly seats in Haryana took place on October 5. Results will be declared on October 8.

In 2014, the BJP came to power in Haryana on its own. However, in the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP fell short of a clear majority, prompting an alliance with Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) to form the government.

This coalition came to an end in March with the transition from Manohar Lal Khattar to Anil Vij, and subsequently, to ML Saini, marking a significant shift in the state's political landscape.

While the Congress is the main challenger to the BJP in the assembly polls, the other outfits and the Aam Aadmi Party make it a multi-cornered contest.

The fragmentation of the Jat vote among parties like the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the JJP may neutralise the Congress's potential advantage.