Gurugram: Media tycoon Subhash Chandra, known for his close ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sprang a surprise when he landed in Adampur Sunday to campaign for a Congress candidate in the assembly elections.
Despite having been elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2016 with the support of the BJP, the Zee TV founder is supporting Congress candidate Chander Prakash in the crucial seat of Adampur, where senior BJP leader Kuldeep Bishnoi’s son, Bhavya Bishnoi, is the party candidate.
Prakash is a retired IAS officer and nephew of former Rajya Sabha member Ramji Lal, who was considered close to former chief minister Bhajan Lal, Bhavya Bishnoi’s grandfather.
Chandra is also supporting industrialist and independent candidate Savitri Jindal in Hisar, where his father and grandfather shifted from their ancestral place, Adampur—where they had a cotton ginning and oil mills business—in the early 1950s.
His moves to support these two candidates in his home district, Hisar, have sparked murmurs in BJP circles. A senior BJP leader from Haryana, who did not want to be identified, told ThePrint that Chandra’s move came as a surprise to the party.
“He became a member of the Rajya Sabha with the support of the BJP. Now, when it came to repaying, he is opposing the official candidates of the party,” he added.
Ashok Chhabra, BJP’s media in-charge in Haryana, however, said that Chandra was never a member of the party.
“He contested the Rajya Sabha election as an Independent. It is true that the BJP supported him and the party expected him to support the party’s candidates. But he is a big businessman. I can’t comment on why he is doing so,” Chhabra added.
Still, in the lead-up to the 5 October state elections, Chandra’s actions have raised serious questions about his alignment with the BJP, as he is now backing candidates that stand in direct opposition to the ruling party’s official candidates in key constituencies in Hisar, where his family has a lot of influence.
His support for candidates outside the BJP—already facing anti-incumbency after 10 years in power—could influence the political dynamics, particularly in Hisar district, given his business and media influence in the region.
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Hint of unhappiness
Subhash Chandra first hinted at his unhappiness on 10 September when he posted on his X handle a purported telephonic conversation with the BJP’s Hisar candidate, Dr Kamal Gupta, also the outgoing health minister in the Nayab Saini government.
हरियाणा विधान सभा के लिए हिसार से BJP के प्रत्याशी से ३ दिन पहले मेरा फ़ोन का वार्तालाप: कगु:भाईसाहिबसादर प्रणाम और बधाई। सच: किस बात की बधाई, गुप्ता जी? कगु: आपके छोटे भाई को टिकट मिलने की। सच: छोटा भाई क्या ५ साल बाद फ़ोन करता है, कम से कम तीज त्योहार पर तो फ़ोन करता है? कगु:…
— Subhash Chandra (@subhashchandra) September 10, 2024
Chandra used KG for Kamal Gupta and SC for himself in his post on X to describe what transpired when he got a call from Gupta.
“KG: Brother, my respectful greetings and congratulations! SC: Congratulations for what, Gupta ji? KG: For your younger brother getting the ticket. SC: A younger brother who calls after five years? At least call during festivals or special occasions. KG: That’s why I need your blessings. SC: This time, you won’t get my blessings because the people of Hisar are very upset with you,” he wrote.
However, Chandra’s message just showed that he was unhappy with Kamal Gupta but there was no indication that he was disillusioned with the BJP.
On 16 September, Chandra posted another message from his official X handle giving subtle hints of distancing himself from the BJP.
In a message in Hindi, he wrote that although all candidates from Hisar came to meet him and seek his support during a two-day visit when he met 700-800 people, the BJP did not come.
He added that he would reflect on the issue and decide who was the most suitable person to represent Hisar. “Based on that decision, I will recommend to all of you whom to vote for,” he wrote.
मैं २ दिन हिसार में ७-८०० लोगों से मिला। इन दोनों दिनों में हिसार विधान सभा के लिए चुनाव के सभी प्रत्याशी सभी दलों और निर्दलीय मिलने और समर्थन माँगने आये। केवल BJP के प्रत्याशी नहीं आये। आज-कल में widhawal होने के बाद ही तय कर पायेंगे कि कौन उपयुक्त व्यक्ति हिसार के लिये सही…
— Subhash Chandra (@subhashchandra) September 16, 2024
A few days later, Chandra posted another message saying he believed Savitri Jindal was the right candidate for Hisar and appealed to people to vote for her.
“Although I come from a BJP-supporting family, I am still appealing for votes for an Independent candidate. Supporting BJP is my personal belief, but the people of Hisar and this city are mine too, so I have a duty towards it as well. Therefore, I earnestly request the voters of Hisar to vote for Savitri Ji,” he wrote.
जैसा मैंने सबसे वायदा किया था। हिसार विधानसभा में जनता और हिसार के लिये श्रीमती सावित्री जी जिंदल उपयुक्त और सही उम्मीदवार हैं। हालाँकि मैं वस्तुतः BJP समर्थक परिवार से हूँ, फिर भी एक निर्दलीय के लिए मत दान की अपील कर रहा हूँ। BJP का समर्थन करना मेरा निजी विचार है परंतु हिसार के…
— Subhash Chandra (@subhashchandra) September 20, 2024
Savitri Jindal responded within an hour with a post on X expressing her gratitude to the media baron.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support, Subhash Ji. A party gives the ticket, but the blessing in the form of votes comes from the people themselves. I want to fulfill the incomplete dreams that Bauji, Shri O.P. Jindal Ji had for Hisar,” she wrote.
“My dream is for our Hisar to be counted not just among the leading cities of the state, but of the entire country. Through our collective efforts, we will certainly build a developed and prosperous Hisar.”
आपके समर्थन के लिए हृदय से धन्यवाद, सुभाष जी।
टिकट पार्टी देती है, लेकिन वोट रूपी आशीर्वाद तो जनता जनार्दन ही देती है। मैं बाऊजी श्री ओ.पी. जिंदल जी द्वारा हिसार के लिए देखे गए अधूरे सपनों को पूरा करना चाहती हूँ। मेरा सपना है कि हमारा हिसार सिर्फ प्रदेश ही नहीं, बल्कि देश के… https://t.co/3iRVzRUmc1
— Savitri Jindal (@SavitriJindal) September 20, 2024
Savitri Jindal’s late husband O.P. Jindal—a businessman who set up the Jindal Group and a former minister whose death in an air crash in 2005 forced Savitri Jindal to enter politics— was fondly called Babuji by people in Hisar.
Also read: In Haryana, it’s the clash of the ‘Lal’ clans. 15 dynasts are gearing up for electoral battle
Old feud and new alignments
Chandra’s support to Savitri Jindal is all the more surprising because his feud with Jindal’s son, Naveen Jindal, is well known.
The feud between Chandra’s Zee Group and Naveen Jindal, now the BJP MP from Kurukshetra, dates back to 2012 when the latter’s company, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), was embroiled in a controversy in the coal block allocation scandal.
The then UPA government led by Manmohan Singh was accused of allocating coal blocks at low prices, benefitting certain companies, including JSPL.
Naveen Jindal was the Congress MP from Kurukshetra for two terms—from 2004 to 2009 and 2009 to 2014.
Zee News, owned by Subhash Chandra’s Zee Group, carried reports alleging irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks to JSPL. The reports accused Jindal of benefiting from the scandal.
In October 2012, Jindal accused two Zee News editors, Sudhir Chaudhary and Samir Ahluwalia, of making an attempt to extort Rs 100 crore from JSPL in exchange for not airing reports on the allegations of the alleged coal scam against his company.
Delhi Police arrested Chaudhary and Ahluwalia on charges of extortion. Zee News, on the other hand, accused Jindal of suppressing journalism by using his influence as a ruling party MP.
Defamation suits were filed by both parties against each other. Jindal accused Zee News of defaming by false news while Zee accused Jindal of tarnishing the media house’s image.
The exact status of the cases is not known but the main case is still pending in the courts.
Chandra’s foray into politics
On June 12, 2016, Subhash Chandra was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana as an Independent candidate with the backing of the BJP. He defeated the INLD-Congress-backed Independent candidate and Supreme Court advocate, R. K. Anand, amid controversy over 14 Congress votes declared invalid due to a change of ink.
After this victory, Chandra was seen as a powerful ally for the BJP given his media influence.
However, eight years down the line, Chandra seems to be charting a different political course.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also read: Populist promises in Congress & BJP manifestos for Haryana polls threaten to strain state’s budget
