Remembering Bhajan Lal : The Man with a 'PhD' in 'Politics of Haryana'

A man who used to work as a labourer at the grain market of Mandi Adampur, near Hisar city, and made a living by carrying bags of wheat on his back; a man who rose from the lowest rungs of the society becoming village sarpanch first, then panchayat samiti chief, making his way to the post of MLA, MP, Minister, rose to the pinnacle of power in Haryana as Chief Minister of the state and then became the Union minister. The man who lost only one election, and the people of Haryana called him “PHD” in politics fondly because of his illustrious political career and sharp political acumen. 

The man was Bhajan Lal, who changed the course of politics in Haryana by assuming the power of Chief Minister thrice. Bhajan Lal was born in a Bishnoi Jat family of the Manjhu clan on 6 October 1930 in the Koranwali village of British India's Bahawalpur princely state, which is now in Pakistan. Following the Partition of India in 1947, the family of Kheraj Manjhu and Kundana Devi relocated to Adampur near Hisar city in Haryana. 

Born into an agricultural family and after facing abject poverty in his early life, Bhajan Lal started working as a laborer at the grain market of Adampur Mandi. Bhajan Lal’s political journey started in 1960 with the post of “Panch” in Panchayat. He never looked back since then, and after serving in various posts in the Hisar district council, fought for the post of MLA in 1968 for the first time. He defeated the independent candidate Capt Balraj with over 10044 votes in the Midterm assembly polls in Adampur and this heralded a new chapter in the politics of Haryana. 

Bhajan Lal’s, first term as the Chief Minister of Haryana started on June 28, 1979 and lasted till July 5, 1985 (including his second term), after he changed his loyalties from the Janata Party government and became a congressman. Bhajan Lal’s strong political acumen and clever politics of defection had led the Hindustan Times to call him the "master of horse-trading”. Additionally, he held positions in the Ministry of Agriculture, Environments & Forests under Rajiv Gandhi's government as a union cabinet minister at the centre.

Bhajan Lal resigned from the Lok Sabha and contested the Haryana Assembly elections held in 1991 from Adampur. Leading the Congress to a win in the elections, he was made the chief minister of Haryana for the third time. But after his third term, Bhajan Lal faced a surprising defeat from the Karnal Lok Sabha seat in 1996, ending his journey as the CM of Haryana. Bhajan Lal remained active in politics even in his last years; he fought and won the 2009 Lok Sabha election despite being 79 years old at the time, stating that he was still "young enough to win elections”. In fact, many still remember that he was the front-runner to be the CM of Haryana in 2004-5. However, the Congress high command had other things in mind. 

Bhajan Lal breathed his last on 3rd June 2011, following a heart attack. Keeping his legacy alive Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi and his grandson Bhavya Bishnoi are serving the people of Haryana. Bhavya Bishnoi is currently the MLA from Adampur, the family seat of Bishnois, and he also serves as Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s Haryana in-charge. Nonetheless, Bhajan Lal’s long political career and representation of the state's various caste groups and backward classes made him a focal point of Haryana politics. Each community in Haryana still holds him in high regard as a mass leader. We at The Haryana Story, along with the people of Haryana, today pay homage to the 'Lal' of Haryana’s soil on his 13th death anniversary.