diff --git a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/ha/ZKFailoverController.java b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/ha/ZKFailoverController.java
index 91f720a49eed9..1f98e55bcd9fa 100644
--- a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/ha/ZKFailoverController.java
+++ b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/ha/ZKFailoverController.java
@@ -263,8 +263,11 @@ private int doRun(String[] args)
       rpcServer.stopAndJoin();
       
       elector.quitElection(true);
-      healthMonitor.shutdown();
-      healthMonitor.join();
+
+      if (healthMonitor != null) {
+        healthMonitor.shutdown();
+        healthMonitor.join();
+      }
     }
     return 0;
   }