Bhajan Lal Bishnoi

Bhajan Lal (Hindi: भजन लाल) is a politician from the state of Haryana in India.

He belongs to the Bishnois sub-caste, and has two sons, Chander Mohan Bishnoi and Kuldeep Bishnoi. He was the chief minister of the Haryana state twice, his first term from June 28th, 1979 to July 5th, 1985, and his second term from July 23rd, 1991 to May 11th, 1996. He had also served as an union cabinet minister at the centre, holding the Agriculture and Environments & Forest portfolios during Rajiv Gandhi's administration. He has been a central point in Haryana politics, representing the non-Jat caste groups of the state.

The victory of the Indian National Congress in Haryana's 2005 elections caused a major rift in its state unit, as it opted to make Bhupinder Hooda, a Jat, the Chief Minister instead of Bhajan. Although he initially cooled down, speculation over his departure from the party was ended in March 2007, when he officially announced he would form a new party. The key event that brought this about was the suspension of his son Kuldeep Bishnoi from the Indian National Congress, for criticizing the party's central leaders. Bhajan has said that Kuldeep and Chander Mohan, who is Haryana's Deputy Chief Minister, would join his party.

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• Bhajan Lal makes a turnaround The Hindu: March 6th, 2005
• Bhajan plans new party Times of India: March 13th, 2007