Devi Lal
In 1989, one man won two Lok Sabha seats. They were in two different states, in the same election. He became Deputy Prime Minister the same year.
Farmer’s son to twice Chief Minister
Jailed twice in the freedom struggle, Devi Lal helped carve Haryana out of Punjab and went on to lead it twice as Chief Minister.
Chaudhary Devi Lal was born on 25 September 1914, in Teja Khera village, Sirsa district. This area is now in Haryana.
He joined a protest led by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1928, while still a teenager.
British authorities jailed him in 1930 for civil disobedience, and again in 1942 during the Quit India movement.
He served three terms in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, from 1952 to 1966, before Haryana became a separate state.
He played a key role in carving Haryana out of Punjab in 1966.
He became Haryana’s Chief Minister for the first time on 21 June 1977. That term ended on 28 June 1979.
His second term as Chief Minister ran from 17 July 1987 to 2 December 1989.
In the 1987 Haryana election, his Lok Dal-led alliance won 85 of the 90 assembly seats.
Source: standard record of Devi Lal’s birth, freedom-movement imprisonment, and both Chief Ministerial terms.
Pause and decide · 1 of 10
Devi Lal was jailed twice by the British — once in 1930 for civil disobedience, and again in 1942 during Quit India. True or false?
True. He went on to play a key role in carving Haryana out of Punjab in 1966, before becoming its Chief Minister for the first time in 1977.
Deputy Prime Minister of India
Devi Lal contested three Lok Sabha seats at once in 1989, won two of them, and became Deputy Prime Minister within the year.
In the 1989 general election, he contested three Lok Sabha seats at once, an unusual move.
He won Sikar in Rajasthan and Rohtak in Haryana, while finishing third in Ferozepur, Punjab.
He became Deputy Prime Minister of India on 2 December 1989, under Prime Minister V.P. Singh.
He held the post in two separate spells, serving under both V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar.
His second spell as Deputy Prime Minister ended on 21 June 1991, when Chandra Shekhar’s government fell.
He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in August 1998, extending his parliamentary career further.
He died on 6 April 2001, in New Delhi, at the age of 86.
Source: standard record of Devi Lal’s 1989 election and Deputy Prime Ministership.
Pause and decide · 2 of 10
Devi Lal contested and won all three Lok Sabha seats he stood for in the 1989 general election. True or false?
False. He won only two of the three seats he contested — Sikar in Rajasthan and Rohtak in Haryana — finishing third in Ferozepur, Punjab.
“Tau,” and the making of the Lok Dal
After nearly four decades in Congress, Devi Lal broke away to lead a farmers’ movement and build his own political dynasty.
Farmers called him “Tau,” meaning elder uncle, for his folksy style and rural appeal.
He left the Congress party in January 1971, after nearly four decades as a member.
He then led the Lok Sangharsh Samiti, a farmers’ protest movement against Congress agricultural policy.
He founded the Lok Dal after winning the Sonepat Lok Sabha seat in 1980.
He founded a new party in 1996. It was renamed the Indian National Lok Dal in 1998.
His son, Om Prakash Chautala, later led the party and became Haryana’s Chief Minister five times.
His great-grandson, Dushyant Chautala, served as Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister from 2019 to 2024, leading a separate party, the Jannayak Janta Party.
Source: standard record of Devi Lal’s 1971 Congress exit and the Chautala political dynasty.
Pause and decide · 3 of 10
Devi Lal’s son, Om Prakash Chautala, became Haryana’s Chief Minister five separate times, more often than his father. True or false?
True. His great-grandson, Dushyant Chautala, later served as Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister from 2019 to 2024, under a separate party he led.
Farm policy legacy
Devi Lal championed rural welfare policies that other states later copied, from an early pension scheme to a nationwide farm loan waiver.
As Chief Minister, Haryana under him reportedly became the first Indian state with an old-age pension scheme.
Other states later copied this pension model, and it eventually spread nationally.
He also ran a “grain for work” scheme to support the rural poor.
Some analysts see this scheme as an early precursor to later national employment-guarantee programmes.
As Deputy Prime Minister, he pushed for the farm loan waiver announced in the 1990 Union Budget.
That waiver covered loans up to ten thousand rupees for small and marginal farmers nationwide.
Source: standard record of Devi Lal’s Haryana pension scheme and the 1990 national farm loan waiver.
Pause and decide · 4 of 10
The 1990 farm loan waiver Devi Lal pushed for as Deputy Prime Minister applied only to farmers within Haryana state. True or false?
False. It applied nationwide, covering loans up to ten thousand rupees for small and marginal farmers across India, not just Haryana.
Three seats, two Prime Ministers
A cabinet rebellion cost Devi Lal his first Deputy PM spell, but he returned to the post once a new Prime Minister took over.
His first Deputy PM spell ran from 2 December 1989 to 1 August 1990, under V.P. Singh.
His second spell ran from 10 November 1990 to 21 June 1991, under Chandra Shekhar.
A gap of over three months separated the two spells, with no Deputy Prime Minister in office.
He was dropped from the V.P. Singh cabinet in mid-1990, amid a split inside the Janata Dal.
He then helped lead the rebellion that brought down V.P. Singh’s government soon after.
He was reinstated as Deputy Prime Minister once Chandra Shekhar became Prime Minister.
Winning multiple Lok Sabha seats in one election is legal, but a winner must resign all but one seat.
Source: standard record of Devi Lal’s two Deputy Prime Minister spells and the gap between them.
Pause and decide · 5 of 10
A gap of over three months separated Devi Lal’s two spells as Deputy Prime Minister, with no one holding the post in between. True or false?
True. He was dropped from the V.P. Singh cabinet amid a Janata Dal split, then helped lead the rebellion that brought down that government before being reinstated under Chandra Shekhar.
Exam Angle: What to Expect
No Previous Year Question in this site’s index has directly tested this yet.
Do not treat Devi Lal’s two Deputy PM spells as one continuous term; a real gap separated them.
Remember his two Chief Minister terms too: 1977 to 1979, and 1987 to 1989, each interrupted by other governments.
Questions may test the Chautala family line: Devi Lal, son Om Prakash Chautala, and great-grandson Dushyant Chautala.
Expect links to the Mandal Commission controversy, the fall of the V.P. Singh government, and Haryana’s 1966 formation.
Source: standard analysis of likely exam angles on Devi Lal.
Pause and decide · 6 of 10
Devi Lal’s two Chief Minister terms in Haryana were back-to-back, with no other government in between. True or false?
False. His first term ran 1977-79 and his second ran 1987-89 — nearly eight years apart, each interrupted by other governments in between.
Pause and decide · 7 of 10
Winning more than one Lok Sabha seat in the same election is legal in India, but the winner must resign all but one seat. True or false?
True. Devi Lal himself won two of the three seats he contested in 1989, before choosing which one to retain.
Pause and decide · 8 of 10
Devi Lal’s 1990 farm loan waiver and his earlier Haryana old-age pension scheme both reflect a consistent focus on rural welfare policy. True or false?
True. Other states later copied his pension model, and analysts see his “grain for work” scheme as an early precursor to later national employment-guarantee programmes.
Pause and decide · 9 of 10
Devi Lal remained a lifelong loyal Congress member, never joining or leading any other political party. True or false?
False. He left Congress in January 1971 after nearly four decades as a member, later founding the Lok Dal and then the party that became the Indian National Lok Dal.
Pause and decide · 10 of 10
Devi Lal’s 1987 Haryana election alliance won an overwhelming 85 of the 90 assembly seats. True or false?
True. This landslide came in his second term as Chief Minister, which ran from 17 July 1987 to 2 December 1989.
Check your understanding
Answer the ten checks above. You will see each explanation after choosing.
Primary sources
- Standard record of Devi Lal’s life, both Chief Ministerial terms, and his Deputy Prime Ministership.
Practice what you learned
Question 1 of 1
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