Has the Congress High Command surrendered to Hooda in Haryana?
JAG MOHAN THAKEN
Now it seems that former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has got a free hand in Haryana Congress. But whether this decision of the party high command will enable the party to come to power in the state in future? After all, what was the reason that the party high command was forced to give a free hand to Hooda? Why Kumari Selja, the former Union minister, and a loyal state president representing the oppressed class, who always remained associated with the Congress, was replaced by an ineffective MLA level person nominated by Hooda and made the state party president? Firstly, Hooda was promoted to the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and later the post of state president was also offered at Hooda’s will, while the party also had strong leaders like Kumari Selja, Kuldeep Bishnoi, Randeep Surjewala and Kiran Chaudhary. Under what thinking these leaders have been sidelined?
Why has Hooda been given a free hand?
When some disgruntled Congress leaders questioned the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi under the G-23 platform, Bhupinder Hooda was also a part of this group. But Hooda adopted both the policies of distance and attachment side-by-side, keeping himself involved in G-23 and putting pressure on the high command and on the other hand kept his MP son Deependra Hooda sticking around Priyanka Gandhi. The High Command was made to realize that in 2014 the party which was limited to only 15 out of 90 seats, in
2019, Hooda got 31 seats for the Congress, and forced the BJP to come down by 6 seats from the majority by bringing it to only 40 seats. Political Critics believe that out of these 31 MLAs, the Hooda faction has been creating pressure by claiming the support of 24 MLAs and every time using them as a tool to sideline their opponents. The party high command has also been forced to accept this claim as correct and has been accepting all the conditions of Hooda.
On the basis of this claim, after the 2019 elections, by ejecting Kiran Chaudhary, the daughter-in-law of former Chief Minister Chaudhary Bansi Lal, Hooda himself became the leader of the Congress Legislature Party and succeeded in grabbing the post of Leader of Opposition in the assembly.
Again on the strength of the support of these 24 MLAs, in the Rajya Sabha elections held after the completion of Kumari Selja’s term in 2020, despite being close to Sonia Gandhi, Kumari Selja was thrown out and Hooda succeeded in sending his son Deependra Hooda to Rajya Sabha.
Last year, Bhupendra Hooda also deprived Kumari Selja from the post of state president as well, and appointed Uday Bhan, who is a staunch supporter of Hooda and having a negligible influence in the field and put the post of State President of Congress in his bag.
Political circles assess that in the name of these 24 MLAs, Hooda’s third competitor, Rahul Gandhi’s right hand Randeep Surjewala was forced to contest the June 2022 Rajya Sabha elections from Rajasthan, so that another chief ministerial candidate can be sidelined by getting him out of the state politics. Ultimately, the party high command had to make Ajay Maken, an outsider and a leader of Hooda’s taste a candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections from Haryana instead of any state leader. But the party had to face defeat even though it had 31 MLAs.
Why did the Congress lose the Rajya Sabha elections despite having enough MLAs?
Despite having 31 out of 90 members in the Haryana Assembly, Congress candidate Ajay Maken had to face defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections on June 10, 2022, why?
Ignored for a long time, Kuldeep Bishnoi had full faith that he would be made the state president, but at the last moment, Hooda’s trick succeeded and this hope of Bishnoi also dashed. Reacting to this, Bishnoi expressed his indignation in one of his tweets on May 21, 2022 – “Like late Indira ji, late Rajiv ji also had an eye on talent and used to take decisions on the basis of merit. When any party takes decisions under the influence of pressure or money, its downfall is certain. We miss Shashwat Rajiv ji, the architect of modern India.”
Even before the Rajya Sabha elections to be held on June 10 in 2022, neglected Bishnoi had said that he would decide after meeting Rahul Gandhi before voting; but assured by Hooda, Rahul did not even give time to meet Bishnoi, which upset Bishnoi and he announced that his vote would be cast on the voice of the soul. Political thinkers believe that here Hooda was holding laddoos in both his hands and that is why he kept on assuring the party high command of victory. Hooda was confident that even if Bishnoi did not vote, Ajay Maken would win with the support of the party’s remaining 30 votes. Here Hooda was seeing the advantage that if Kuldeep Bishnoi does not vote for the Congress candidate, he will be sidelined from the party by making Bishnoi’s anti-party action an argument, and if Bishnoi votes in favour of the Congress candidate Hooda’s supremacy will be proved automatically. But Hooda had no idea even in his dreams that the vote of any other disgruntled member of his party would also be cancelled to give Hooda a jolt. And it happened.
Bishnoi openly went against the party line and voted for the BJP-backed independent candidate Kartik Sharma, and the vote of an another party MLA was nullified, resulting the Congress candidate defeated and leaving Hooda and the Congress high command in shock.
After that, Bishnoi also took an aggressive stand and met Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and also indicated what could be his next step. As former Union Minister Birendra Singh, father of present BJP MP Brijendra Singh from Hisar Lok Sabha constituency was also seen unsatisfied with BJP, so BJP was also ready to include Kuldeep Bishnoi in BJP as a part of its backup plan. Chief Minister Khattar, while thanking Kuldeep after Bishnoi voted in favour of the BJP-backed Rajya Sabha candidate, said that if Kuldeep joins the BJP, he is welcome. “Impressed by the policies and achievements of the Central Government and the nation-friendly ideology of the BJP, Mr. Kuldeep Bishnoi ji has openly voted after listening to the voice of the conscience.” Later Kuldeep also found it beneficial to leave the congress party and join the BJP and he turned saffron. Now with the help of Kuldeep Bishnoi, BJP is planning to fetch Bishnoi votes in the Rajasthan assembly elections going to be held at the end of this year, and in this sequence, BJP has appointed Kuldeep Bishnoi as co-incharge also for Rajasthan elections.
Hooda’s dent in Bansi Lal’s Legacy
Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda presently seems to be dominating the battle of ‘who will become the commander in the Haryana Congress’ and he has proved this by making a dent in the vote bank in Bhiwani, the home town of former Chief Minister late Chaudhary Bansilal. Hooda has succeeded in killing two birds with one stone by holding a successful rally in Bhiwani on 9th July. On one hand he not only neglected Kiran Chaudhary, who claims the sole political legal heir of late Chaudhary Bansi Lal, but also showed that he also has a wide following in Bhiwani and can present a big challenge to Kiran Chaudhary. On the other hand, Hooda has raised a rival group against Chaudhary to claim legacy of Chaudhary Bansi Lal. In this rally Bansilal family’s rift has been publicly exposed by bringing ticket-seekers from the same family on Hooda’s platform. Hooda has groomed Anirudh Chowdhary, son of Bansi Lal’s elder son Ranbir Singh Mahendra, as a contender from Tosham assembly constituency against Kiran Chowdhary. Till now it was believed that apart from Kiran Chowdhary, there is no other strong contender from Tosham in Congress. Now claiming of the ticket by the sole grandson of Chaudhary Bansi Lal will prove to be a big challenge for Kiran Chaudhary.
Will Hooda alone be able to give electoral victory to Congress?
Where Hooda’s supporters argue that Congress, which was limited to only 15 out of 90 seats in 2014, in 2019, Hooda raised the figure to 31 seats for the party and forced the BJP to come down by 6 seats from the majority by limiting it to only 40 seats. On the other hand, his opposition faction rejects Hooda’s kingship and argues that Hooda did not exist as a major leader at the state level before the 2005 elections. The 2005 assembly election was fought in the name of Chaudhary Bhajan Lal, a three times Chief Minister of Haryana, in which Congress got 67 seats in 90-member assembly, but the Congress High Command throned Bhupinder Hooda as the Chief Minister instead of Bhajan Lal. Angered by this, Bhajan Lal formed a separate party in the name of Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) and handed over the command to his son Kuldeep Bishnoi. Five years later, when elections were held in 2009 under Hooda’s Chief Ministership, Congress reduced to only 40 seats and the newly formed Janhit Congress got 7 seats, but Hooda formed the Congress government again by breaking 5 MLAs of HJC. Again in 2014, the elections were fought under the leadership of Hooda, but the Congress got limited to 15 seats. Hooda’s opponents claim that it was because of Hooda that the Congress came down from 67 to 40 and from 40 to 15. When Kuldeep Bishnoi merged his party HJC with the Congress in 2016 and contested the 2019 assembly elections under former Union Minister Kumari Selja, the state president, the Congress again climbed up to 31 seats from 15. Now again as the anti-Hooda party leaders are being sidelined, so it seems that the Congress wants to go to the abyss again in the 2024 elections at the hands of Hooda.
Hooda is confident that he will get the majority in the next year’s Haryana assembly elections and the person with the majority will become the Chief Minister, but Hooda’s opponent Kiran Chowdhary argues that the Chief Minister will be the person to whom the High Command wants to throne. Kiran Chowdhary gives the example that the 2005 Vidhansabha elections which were fought in the name of three-time Chief Minister of Haryana, Chowdhary Bhajan Lal, in which Congress got 67 seats in the 90-member assembly, but the Congress high command chose Bhupinder Hooda instead of Bhajan Lal for the Chief Ministership.
Now feeling the smell of dismal future, the three anti-Hooda group leaders of Haryana congress – Kumari Selja, Randeep Surjewala and Kiran Chaudhary have chalked out the parallel programmes to show their strength.
Claims and counter-claims are being made from both sides, but political commentators believe that keeping other leaders on the sidelines, Congress cannot form the government by giving complete command in the hands of Hooda alone. The rest of the truth is still oscillating in the womb of the future.
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