Chaudhary Devi Lal, following his triumph in the election for the
Rori constituency to the
Haryana Legislative Assembly in 1974, established the
Bharatiya Lok Dal. Subsequently, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) emerged in 1987 after the assembly election. The electoral battles of 1982 and 1987 were waged under the banner of Lok Dal (LKD), marking a transitional phase for the party. Notably, in 1998, the party underwent a rebranding, adopting its current name. The party's political affiliations saw it become a constituent of the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Consequently, it contributed to the governance helmed by the
Bharatiya Janata Party from 1998 to 2004 on the federal stage. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has faced a series of electoral setbacks, notably performing below expectations in each of the four successive general elections conducted since 1998. It has experienced a string of defeats in the Haryana assembly elections, facing losses in the years 2005, 2009, and 2014. Moreover, despite forming an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2009, the party encountered disappointment by failing to secure any seats in the Lok Sabha during both the 2004 and 2009 general elections. During the
1999 Lok Sabha elections, the INLD forged an electoral alliance with the BJP in Haryana. Each party contested five out of the ten seats in the state, resulting in a clean sweep with all ten candidates securing victories. Subsequently, in 2000,
Chautala clinched his fifth term as the
Chief Minister of Haryana. The INLD exhibited strong performance in the state assembly elections, securing 47 out of the 90 available seats. However, following this success, the party opted to sever ties with the BJP, consequently departing from both the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the government. The 2004 electoral contest saw the party vying for 20 Lok Sabha seats across
Haryana,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh, and
Chandigarh. Unfortunately, a majority of these candidates, numbering 14, failed to retain their deposits. Specifically, in Haryana, the INLD's 10 candidates managed to secure 22.43% of the votes. Meanwhile, in Rajasthan, 5 candidates garnered 0.52% of the votes, 4 candidates in Uttar Pradesh secured a mere 0.02%, and the sole candidate in Chandigarh amassed 6.61% of the votes. In the subsequent 2005 Haryana state assembly elections, the INLD faced a substantial setback, losing its majority by securing only 9 out of the 90 available seats. This marked a significant decline compared to the Congress party's sweeping victory, clinching 67 seats during the same electoral contest. In 2009, the INLD won 31 seats. On 16 January 2013,
Om Prakash Chautala and
Ajay Chautala were sent jail after a New Delhi court sentenced them to ten years imprisonment under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. In the
16th Lok Sabha elections, the INLD won on two seats.
Dushyant Chautala was elected from the
Hisar Lok Sabha constituency and
Charanjeet Singh Rori was elected for a
Sirsa Lok Sabha constituency. In
Rohtak at Chhotu Ram Stadium, INLD made the
Guinness World Records for having supporters apply for 10,450 eye donations in 8 hours. In the
2014 Legislative Assembly election, the INLD won 19 seats and became the Opposition party in the state, earning more seats than the
Congress party.
Abhay Singh Chautala was elected as the
Leader of the Opposition in the
Haryana Legislative Assembly.
Jannayak Janta Party emerged from a split in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) which itself had been caused by infighting among the Chautala family. An INLD rally at
Gohana in October 2018 had seen heckling of
Abhay Chautala, a son of INLD leader
Om Prakash Chautala for which
Dushyant Chautala, a grandson, and his younger brother,
Digvijay Chautala, were blamed. The JJP was formally launched at a rally in
Jind in December 2018 by
Dushyant Chautala who held a seat in the
Lok Sabha of the national
Parliament of India, from when he was an INLD member. For the
2019 Haryana Legislative Assembly election, they forged an alliance with
Shiromani Akali Dal. Previously, both parties fought elections together but their alliance fell in 2017 over the issue of the
Sutlej Yamuna link canal.
Abhay Singh Chautala was elected as the lone MLA of the party. On 27 January 2021, Abhay Singh Chautala had resigned as the only MLA from the party citing the BJP-led Union government's refusal to accept farmers' demands. Before the
2024 Indian general election, Abhay Singh Chautala formed an alliance with Haryana
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) Chief Virender Verma to contest from the
Karnal Lok Sabha constituency against Manohar Lal Khattar. Abhay Singh Chautala and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) party extended full support to Virender Verma. In July 2024, before the
2024 Haryana Legislative Assembly election, INLD decided to contest elections in alliance with the
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), where the latter will contest 27 seats and the former shall contest the rest. The party managed to win two seats, one more than last time. == Electoral performance ==