Chandigarh: Even after a majority defeat in the most recent Haryana assembly polls, there is no let up in the Congress party’s internal warfare. The fight for the Leader of Opposition post has divided the party right down the middle. On the one hand, the loyalists of the former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda have been displaying muscles to convey the message to Congress high command while, on the other, Kumari Selja and Randeep Surjewala factions have been discreetly stitching up their alliances to regain control. The Congress, which secured 37 seats, will nominate its candidate for the Assembly Speaker on October 18.
On the same level of a minister of the government, the position of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) is sought after a lot Because this particular position places the holder as the main spokesperson for the opposition in the particular state. It has had a tradition of three bar leaders namely Devi Lal, Om Prakash Chautala and Bhupinder Singh Hooda who have become the Chief Ministers after they were the LoP.
Well, since August 2019 the Hooda-led faction still remains very much entrenched in the affairs of the Haryana Congress. This has seen Kiran choudhary and Kuldeep Bishnoi relegated to the bench while Ashok Tanwar has also been rarely spoken of. Therefore, Hooda is interested to remain in control.
But the youth can’t be an issue here as Deepender Singh Hooda, son of Bhupinder Singh Hooda is located firmly in politics and is close to both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. The Hooda Family which has always been keen on holding a strong position in the party and government doesn’t seem to change their mind anytime soon.
I know that Mr Hooda currently has the support of only 31 MLAs, it’s his strength. These 31 legislators may well hold the key in the next elections especially the Rajya Sabha, where over past decade Cong has lost two seats because of indiscipline.
Bur in the Hooda camp there is apprehension that whoever is likely to be elected as the Leader of Opposition can turn into a contender for the Chief Ministerial in the future. Most of the current contenders for the Chief Minister’s chair are politicians in the center of national politics which makes the case even more complicated.
The question is now who among them will be picked by Congress for the post of the leader of opposition.
In the Haryana Congress, there is building a great suspense regarding the person who is going to be elected the Leader of Opposition. Apart from Hooda, there are other factions also seeking the post like Kumari Selja and Randeep Surjewalatentative have emerged.
More so, it can be anticipated that Congress will look for a balance between the power of Jat and Dalit when making this decision. These two communities willtolist as very supportive of the party in the election. Since the current state president belongs to the Dalit category, the probability of a Jat becoming the Leader of Opposition will be great.
In order to capitulate all, this is the chance that congress can again play the old tactic of distributing key positions wherein both the state president and LoP positions are given to Hooda faction last time.
On one hand, Selja and Surjewala’s camps insist that this previous arrangement put Haryana Congress into an election mode that was Jat versus non-Jat which they blame for the Congress loss in the State.
Deepender Hooda is a MP from Rohtak and Bhupinder Singh Hooda is MLA from Kiloi till present. Still, it remains to be seen what part they will be playing next. People think that Deepender may carry on with national politics in Delhi and Bhupinder Singh Hooda will not be able to become the Leader of Opposition in Haryana because of his age. Instead, at 77, Hooda may directly lobby for a loyalist to be named to the post.
Selja and Surjewala failed in assembly polls, prominent members like Shamsher Gogi and Pradeep Choudhary were defeated. Even Surjewala got about winning for his son only. For these reasons at the current moment both factions are in a relatively weak bargaining position.
But there are whispers that Congress, which is gearing up for revamp of the state unit may accommodate both factions in the new formation itself.