Abhay Singh Chautala

Chautala was born on 14 February 1963 in Chautala village of Sirsa district in the Indian state of Haryana. He studied at S.M. Hindu Senior Secondary School, Sonipat. He did Bachelor of Arts from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University. He has represented the state eight times in the national volleyball championship and won numerous medals.^[2][6][7]

Chautala started his political career by getting elected as Upsarpanch (Deputy Sarpanch) of Chautala village. His notable ascent in the political arena came to the forefront in the year 2000 when he helped his father to clinch victory from Haryana's Rori Assembly constituency under the banner of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).^[7]

In 2005, Chautala became the president of the District Council of Sirsa. In 2010, he emerged victorious in the Ellenabad Assembly constituency by-election following the arrest of his father, Om Prakash Chautala and his brother, Ajay Singh Chautala.

After securing re-election as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 2014, Chautala assumed the role of the Leader of Opposition within the Haryana Legislative Assembly. During the 2014 Indian general elections, Chautala guided the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) to secure 2 Lok Sabha seats amidst a formidable electoral surge favouring the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party wave.

On 27 January 2021, Chautala resigned as the sole MLA from the party citing the BJP-led Union government’s refusal to accept farmers’ demands.^[8][9] He was later re-elected from the Ellenabad constituency in a bypoll election on 2 November 2021.^[10] Chautala lost the seat to Bharat Singh Beniwal of the Indian National Congress in the 2024 Haryana Legislative Assembly election.^[11]

In April 2024, Chautala was nominated by his party to contest the 2024 Indian general election from the Kurukshetra constitiuency of Haryana, but he lost the election to Naveen Jindal of the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[12][13]

On 25 March 2025, he became the national president of the Indian National Lok Dal, succeeding his father Om Prakash Chautala.^[14]

He married Supriya in March 1987, but she died under suspicious circumstances at the age of 19 on 11 November 1988. Later, he married Kanta Chautala and has two sons, Karan Singh Chautala and Arjun Singh Chautala.^[2][7][24]