- English:
- Indian National People’s Party
- Date:
- 1998 - present
- Related People:
- Devi Lal
- Om Prakash Chautala
Indian National Lok Dal
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What is the Indian National Lok Dal?
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is a regional political party in Haryana, India, that was founded in 1996 by Chaudhary Devi Lal as the Haryana Lok Dal. By 1998, it was known as the Indian National Lok Dal. From its start, the INLD was run by Lal and his family, with leadership passing to his son, Om Prakash Chautala, in 1999.
The INLD does not profess any particular ideology, except to promote the causes of farmers, laborers, rural and urban areas, and the downtrodden. After its formation, the party became part of a coalition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The INLD won four seats in the 1998 elections to the Lok Sabha and five seats in the 1999 polls.
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When and why was the Indian National Lok Dal formed?
In 1996, Chaudhary Devi Lal, a politician from Haryana, established the Haryana Lok Dal party, which later became known as the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) by 1998. Lal, a Jat who served as chief minister of the state twice and as deputy prime minister of India for two terms, founded the party. The INLD's stated promises include advocating for "farmers, laborers, rural and urban areas, and the downtrodden and exploited".
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Where does the Indian National Lok Dal mainly operate in India?
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) primarily operates in Haryana state, northwest-central India, with its power base in the traditional Jat heartland in central and west-central Haryana. While the INLD has had a limited presence on the national political scene in New Delhi, its focus has been principally within Haryana.
Chaudhary Devi Lal, a Jat politician and former chief minister of Haryana, established the party in 1996 as the Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya), which later became known as the Indian National Lok Dal by 1998. The party's stated promises include promoting the causes of farmers, laborers, rural and urban areas, and the downtrodden.
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Who are some of the key leaders of the Indian National Lok Dal?
The key leaders of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) political party include:
- Devi Lal: Founded the INLD in 1996. He served as chief minister of Haryana twice and as deputy prime minister of India for two terms.
- Om Prakash Chautala: Son of Devi Lal, Chautala took over the leadership of the party in 1999. He also served as chief minister of Haryana five times.
- Abhay Singh Chautala: Younger son of Om Prakash Chautala, he led the INLD during his father's incarceration.
- Ajay Singh Chautala: Elder son of Om Prakash Chautala and the party's secretary-general.
- Dushyant Chautala: Grandson of Om Prakash Chautala. Dushyant was expelled from the INLD, leading to the formation of the Jannayak Janta Party.
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What are the main goals and policies of the Indian National Lok Dal?
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is a regional political party in Haryana, India, that was established in 1996 by Chaudhary Devi Lal. The INLD does not profess any particular ideology, but it has stated that it will promote the causes of farmers, laborers, rural and urban areas, and the downtrodden and exploited.
The INLD was run and controlled by Lal and his family, with the top leadership passing from him to his son in 1999. The party was part of a coalition headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that became known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 1999. After a series of electoral defeats and internal conflicts, the INLD's electoral performance has been dismal.
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How has the Indian National Lok Dal influenced politics in Haryana and India?
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is a regional political party in Haryana, India, with a limited national presence. Chaudhary Devi Lal, a Jat politician and former deputy prime minister, founded it in 1996 as the Haryana Lok Dal, renamed INLD by 1998.
The INLD has been part of coalitions, including the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and has won seats in the Lok Sabha. Om Prakash Chautala, Devi Lal's son, became Haryana's chief minister with BJP support in 1999.
The party aims to promote the causes of farmers, laborers, and the downtrodden. However, INLD's governance has faced criticism, and the party has dealt with corruption cases and internal divisions, impacting its electoral performance.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), regional political party of Haryana state, northwest-central India. The party’s focus has been principally in the state, and it has had only a limited presence on the national political scene in New Delhi. Its power base has been principally in the traditional Jat heartland in central and west-central Haryana.
In 1996 the Haryana-based politician Chaudhary Devi Lal established the Haryana Lok Dal party. Lal, himself a Jat, had served twice as chief minister (head of government) of the state (1977–79 and 1987–89) and two terms as deputy prime minister of India (1989–90 and 1990–91). The party was officially established under the name Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya)—or HLD(R)—but by 1998 it was known as the Indian National Lok Dal. The party has not professed any particular ideology, except for its stated promises to promote the causes of “farmers, labourers, rural and urban areas, and the downtrodden and exploited.” From its inception the INLD was run and controlled by Lal and his family, with the top leadership passing from him to Om Prakash Chautala, his son, in 1999.
After its formation the party was a part of a coalition headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that in 1999 became known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The INLD won four seats in the 1998 elections to the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the Indian parliament), and five seats in the 1999 polls. Also in 1999 Chautala, with the support of the BJP, became the chief minister of the state for the fourth time. He was in office little more than half a year before early elections to the state’s legislative assembly were announced.
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The INLD contested the 2000 Haryana assembly elections in alliance with the BJP and won 47 seats in the 90-member chamber; the BJP added another six seats. Chautala was again named chief minister. The INLD government, however, was ineffectual, in spite of the token measures it initiated to improve the lot of the farmers, better utilize water resources for farming purposes, establish institutions of higher education (notably Chaudhary Devi Lal University; founded 2003), and develop infrastructure. The INLD severed its alliance with the BJP and the NDA in 2004.
In the 2005 state assembly elections, the party suffered a humiliating defeat, winning only nine seats. Poor governance during its previous tenure, the party’s split with the BJP, defections within the party itself, and the rise of caste-based parties (such as the Bahujan Samaj Party) were among the reasons given for the INLD’s electoral performance. The death of Chaudhary Devi Lal in 2001 had also reduced the party’s popular appeal among the Jats, who had highly respected the senior leader. The Indian National Congress (Congress Party) won 67 seats and formed the government. Following the elections the BJP and the INLD reestablished their alliance.
The INLD fared even worse in elections to the Lok Sabha, failing to win a single seat in the chamber in the 2004 and 2009 contests. That led the BJP to split with the INLD, which occurred shortly before the 2009 state legislative assembly elections. In the Haryana polls, the INLD rebounded to win 31 seats, but shortly before the election some key party members deserted the INLD and joined the Congress Party. Congress, which won 40 seats, was able to form a coalition government. The INLD, as the opposition in the assembly, kept pressure on the government by attempting to highlight cases of poor governance and by bringing allegations of corruption. The party contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on its own and garnered two seats in the chamber.
It was the INLD, however, that became the subject of a major corruption case. In January 2013 party president Chautala, his son Ajay Singh Chautala (the party’s secretary-general), and other leaders were convicted in a case involving the illegal recruitment of teachers in the state. The defendants received prison terms of up to 10 years. Om Prakash Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala were released from jail in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
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The INLD was led by Om Prakash Chautala’s younger son Abhay Singh Chautala during the elder Chautalas’ incarceration. In 2018 the party was split by a feud in the family. Ajay Singh Chautala’s son Dushyant Chautala emerged as the popular choice for the party’s chief ministerial candidate in the 2019 Haryana election, while Om Prakash Chautala favored Abhay Singh Chautala. Dushyant Chautala and his brother Digvijay Chautala were expelled from the INLD, leading to the formation of the breakaway Jannayak Janta Party, which their parents, Ajay Singh Chautala and Naina Singh Chautala, also joined.
The INLD’s electoral performance since the split has been dismal. The party won a single seat in the 2019 Haryana assembly elections and two seats in the 2024 assembly polls. It won no seats in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 and 2024.