Ellenabad polls will be referendum on farm laws, says Abhay Chautala of INLD

Ahead of the bypolls in Ellenabad constituency of Haryana on October 30, senior INLD leader Abhay Chautala said that the election would prove to be a referendum on three farm laws passed by the Central government in September 2020

Ahead of the bypolls in Ellenabad constituency of Haryana on October 30, senior Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Chautala said that the election would prove to be a referendum on three farm laws passed by the Central government in September 2020.

INLD leader Abhay Chautala, who resigned as the MLA of Ellenabad constituency in Sirsa in a protest against the farm laws, addresses a press conference in Gurugram ahead of the polls. (Vipin Kumar /HT PHOTO)

Speaking at a press conference in Gurugram on Tuesday, Chautala said that the candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) coalition would not be elected to the assembly as a majority of farmers are opposed to the government.

Chautala was the MLA of Ellenabad constituency in Sirsa district; he resigned on January 27 in a protest against the farm laws. He was the only INLD member in the state assembly.

“This byelection will signify whether people support the three farm laws or if they are against these black laws. I had asked my voters whether I should follow the footsteps of Chaudhary Devi Lal and resign as an MLA; they supported the decision at that time,” Chautala said.

The INLD leader also said that decision about the party candidate for the polls would be taken on October 3. “I can assure you that candidate from ruling BJP-JJP will face strong opposition and protests from the voters as most of them are farmers, who oppose the farm laws,” Chautala said.

The INLD leader said that if the Congress MLAs had also resigned on the farm laws issue, then the government would have fallen.

Raman Malik, BJP spokesperson, said that resignation by INLD was nothing but a political gimmick to win public sympathy. “The three farm laws are still there and these have not been repealed. So, why is Chautala or his party keen on fighting the election? The reason for resignation is still there,” he said.