Haryana’s Ahirwal Belt: A High-Stakes Political Power Play Within the BJP

Inside the Gurugram Civil Lines residence of Haryana’s Industries and Commerce Minister, Rao Narbir, a man in a grey safari suit, choosing anonymity, settled comfortably on a sofa. This part of Gurugram, an older suburb of Delhi, features government offices and modest buildings, a stark contrast to the gleaming high-rises and secure communities that line National Highway 48, the main thoroughfare linking Delhi to Gurugram.

The bespectacled visitor, awaiting his meeting with Narbir, noted, “Rao Narbir and Inderjit Singh are the unparalleled Ahir leaders in Haryana. Within every Ahir village across south Haryana, you’ll find distinct factions, each pledging allegiance to one of these formidable figures.”

Behind the sofa, a striking, oversized photograph depicted Narbir, 64, engrossed in a private conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The opposite wall was adorned with a captivating collage, chronicling his family’s extensive political legacy stretching back to the pre-Independence era.

Meanwhile, Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh, 75, a Union Minister of State for Planning, carries the honorific ‘Raja ji’ due to his royal heritage. A direct descendant of Rewari king Rao Tula Ram, a notable figure in Haryana’s 1857 First War of Independence, his political lineage is also continued by his daughter, Arti Singh Rao, Haryana’s Health Minister and a first-time MLA from Ateli.

Despite both Narbir and Inderjit belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at both the state and central levels, their rivalry intensified significantly after the October 2024 Assembly elections. They have since engaged in subtle criticisms, openly expressed their disagreements, and directly confronted each other in local municipal polls, each striving to establish political dominance. This has ignited a fierce tug-of-war within the party.

The Ahirs, also known as Yadavs, trace their ancestry to the legendary Yadu Dynasty of Lord Krishna. Classified as a backward class in Haryana, they constitute slightly over 5% of the state’s total voters. Yet, this agrarian and pastoral community wields substantial political clout, especially in key regions.

Within the Gurugram-Rewari-Mahendragarh region, famously known as the Ahirwal belt, the Yadavs may be numerically smaller than the combined strength of Jats and Scheduled Castes (who together form over a third of the state’s agricultural populace). However, community figures highlight a consistent pattern: Ahirs have overwhelmingly supported the BJP since 2014, a crucial factor in the party’s unprecedented three consecutive victories in the Assembly elections.

A History of Shifting Alliances

Inderjit’s departure from the Congress to join the BJP just before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections proved to be a pivotal moment, significantly shifting the political landscape in Haryana. Analysts suggest that additional factors influenced the Ahirs’ allegiance to the BJP, including the entrenched Jat-non-Jat schism (with Jats historically favoring the Congress) and the increasing presence of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Hindutva ideology in this region, which borders the Meo Muslim-majority area of Nuh.

In 2014, the BJP secured 47 seats in the 90-member Assembly, marking its inaugural majority government in Haryana, and achieved a landslide victory in the Ahirwal belt, clinching all 11 constituencies. By 2019, their count reduced to eight. However, despite facing anti-incumbency and internal strife in the 2024 Assembly elections, the BJP managed to exceed the 45-seat majority threshold, winning 10 seats in the crucial Ahirwal region.

Narbir’s reappointment as a State Cabinet Minister, following his omission from the BJP ticket in the 2019 elections, has reignited his longstanding political rivalry with Inderjit.

With a political career spanning five decades in Haryana, Inderjit has served as Union Minister of State in various capacities across all three Narendra Modi-led governments since 2014. Previously, he also held portfolios as Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Defence during the United Progressive Alliance administrations.

His father, Rao Birender Singh, served in the Army from 1942 to 1947 before becoming Haryana’s first non-Congress Chief Minister in March 1967, merely a year after the state’s formation from Punjab. On September 23, 1978, Birender integrated his Vishal Haryana Party with the Congress, following the request of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Prior to aligning with the BJP, Narbir had affiliations with the Haryana Vikas Party and a brief tenure with the Congress. Over his four-decade-long political journey, he has been elected as an MLA four times, serving as a Minister in each instance.

Narbir, though distantly related to Inderjit, also hails from a politically prominent family. His grandfather, Rao Mohar Singh, a law graduate, served as a member of the Legislative Council of undivided Punjab from 1944 until his passing in 1958, holding the position of Chief Parliamentary Secretary in Pratap Singh Kairon’s government. Mohar also established the Ahir Education Board, Rewari, which has since expanded into a vast network of educational institutions across northern India. Narbir’s father, Rao Mahabir Singh, was also an MLA in Haryana in 1967, 1968, and 1972. While the historical political animosity between these two Ahir families predates Haryana’s formation, Narbir and Inderjit first clashed politically in 1987. In his debut election from the Jatusana Assembly constituency, then-26-year-old Narbir, running with the Lok Dal, decisively defeated Inderjit, a Congress candidate, by approximately 9,000 votes.

A seasoned Gurugram-based leader, aged 65, who has collaborated closely with both Singh and Narbir, remarked, “Both leaders command dedicated personal cadres who follow them irrespective of party affiliations. They are not reliant on any party’s traditional vote bank, consistently prioritizing their own interests. While they champion their supporters, they strategically prevent their political advancement.”

The Drama of ‘Resort Politics’

The simmering political tension between the two Ahir stalwarts escalated dramatically during the municipal elections this February. Both leaders actively campaigned for opposing candidates for the Mayor’s seat. While the BJP celebrated winning nine out of ten Mayor posts across the state, its dominant streak was surprisingly broken in its stronghold, the Ahirwal belt. The party suffered its sole defeat in the Manesar Municipal Corporation, established in 2020.

Inderjit lent his support to Independent candidate Inderjit Yadav, while Narbir and the BJP’s state command endorsed Sunderla Sarpanch. Ultimately, Yadav emerged victorious, winning the election by a margin of 2,293 votes.

Just two months prior, the elections for Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the Manesar Municipal Corporation once again became a direct contest for power between the two leaders. To consolidate his support base and preempt potential defections amidst internal party factionalism, Narbir transported a dozen councillors, including some independents, to a discreet resort in Nepal ahead of the August 5 poll.

Narbir secured a clear victory in this second round, with both his chosen candidates winning uncontested as the rival faction conspicuously boycotted the election.

At Inderjit’s ancestral Rampura village in Rewari, his supporter Ram Kumar Yadav asserted, “‘Raja ji’ and his lineage have been the embodiment of Ahirwal politics for centuries. While Narbir might face challenges securing his own Assembly seat, ‘Rao Sahab’ possesses the power to influence the results of any Assembly constituency across the Ahirwal belt.”

Conversely, Naresh Sharma, Inderjit’s personal assistant, praised his employer, stating, “He stands as Haryana’s most prominent leader today. No contemporary, not even former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has achieved four consecutive terms in the Lok Sabha.”

In rebuttal to Inderjit’s supporters, Narbir’s associates argue that their leader, unlike his rival, enjoys broad appeal and unites diverse groups. Brahm Yadav, Narbir’s personal assistant, explained, “People from all 36 communities support him; he isn’t a leader confined to a single community. The key distinction is that Rao Inderjit has consistently held power, whereas Rao Narbir was out of office for roughly twenty-five years.”

The Emergence of a Third Player

Adding a new dimension to the BJP’s Ahir leadership is Abhe Singh Yadav, a septuagenarian bureaucrat-turned-politician and a first-generation political figure. Last year, he suffered a defeat in the Nangal Choudhary Assembly seat to the Congress’s Manju Chaudhary. In August, Abhe took to X (formerly Twitter) to hint at a conspiracy by Inderjit as the reason for his loss. He shared a news article suggesting Inderjit had secured approval for a project aimed at mitigating groundwater depletion in south Haryana villages. Alongside the clipping, Abhe critically remarked, “Taking credit for others’ efforts appears to be a flaw.” He further criticized his own party, stating, “Not only is MLA Manju Chaudhary of Nangal Chaudhary welcomed at the dinner [hosted by Inderjit], but she is also welcomed into the Bharatiya Janata Party…”

Two weeks ago, on the ‘Gurukul of Politics’ podcast, Abhe openly discussed his strained relationship with Inderjit. He recounted how the senior Ahir leader had initially supported his first Assembly election from Nangal Chaudhary in 2014, even campaigning for him and being present during his nomination filing. However, their alliance soured when Abhe declined to endorse Inderjit’s bid for the Chief Minister’s position.

Navigating the Political Landscape

Inderjit has frequently voiced dissent against his own party, notably criticizing Manohar Lal, Haryana’s Chief Minister for two terms, in public forums. He has openly asserted his ambition for the CM’s office, emphasizing the Ahirwal belt’s crucial role in securing the BJP’s electoral successes.

A recent dinner at Inderjit’s daughter’s Chandigarh residence, attended by a dozen MLAs (including one from the Congress), sent ripples through state politics. BJP insiders acknowledge Inderjit’s indispensable role in their party’s viability within the Ahirwal region. “The BJP, having previously denied a ticket to former State president Ram Bilas Sharma, another influential south Haryana leader, now aims to strategically counterbalance Rao Inderjit Singh by uniting Rao Narbir and Abhe Singh Yadav, both trusted allies of Manohar Lal. Their objective is to diminish their reliance on Rao Inderjit Singh,” revealed an anonymous BJP leader. Simultaneously, the Congress, seeking to rejuvenate its presence in the Ahirwal belt, announced on September 29 the appointment of former MLA and Ahir leader Rao Narender Singh as the new Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president.

Party spokesperson Ved Prakash Vidhroi noted, “This marks the first time in five decades that the Congress has appointed an Ahir leader as its State president. Historically, Ahirs were loyal Congress voters until Bhupinder Singh Hooda assumed leadership of the Haryana Congress in 2005.” He further suggested that with Inderjit now in his late seventies and his daughter Arti still navigating the political landscape, the Congress sees an opportunity to significantly enhance its electoral performance.