Om Prakash Chautala, Former Haryana CM, Passes Away at 89 in Gurugram
Gurugram, 20th December 2024: Om Prakash Chautala, the leader of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and former Haryana chief minister, passed away in Gurugram on Friday, 20th December, at the age of 89 due to a cardiac arrest, at confirmed by a party spokesperson.
Chautala, the son of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal, was last seen publicly during the Haryana Assembly election on 5th October 2024, at a polling booth in Sirsa’s Chautala village. He served as Haryana’s seventh chief minister and was a prominent figure in the state’s politics.
In May 2022, Chautala was sentenced to four years in prison in connection with a 16-year-old disproportionate assets case, making him the oldest inmate at Delhi’s Tihar Jail at 87. He was released in 2020.
Chautala’s wife, Sneh Lata, passed away in August 2019. He is survived by his two sons, Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala, and three daughters. Abhay Singh is an MLA from the Ellenabad constituency and served as the Leader of the Opposition in Haryana from 2014 to 2019. His grandson, Dushyant Chautala, is the leader of the Jannayak Janata Party and has served as Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister and as a Member of Parliament from Hisar.
Born in a small village near Sirsa, Chautala followed in his father’s footsteps, entering politics after dropping out of school. He was first elected to the Haryana legislative assembly in 1970. His political journey was marked by several controversies, including his detention at Delhi airport in 1978 for smuggling wristwatches and accusations of involvement in the murder of a political rival in 1990.
Chautala held the position of Haryana’s chief minister multiple times, from December 1989 to May 1990, again in 1990-91, and from 1999 to 2005. He was also instrumental in founding the INLD in 1996.
