Haryana Congress fight surfaces after loss, Kumari Selja targets Hoodas
The Haryana Congress's internal discord has come to the fore after the party's defeat in the state assembly elections. Before the final results were announced, state unit chief Kumari Selja targeted Bhupinder Singh Hooda, under whose leadership the party contested and lost. She urged the national leadership to devise a strategy for reviving the party in Haryana and identifying those responsible for its poor performance.
Selja calls for accountability within Congress
Selja stressed the need to find out who prevented the party from returning to power in Haryana. "Pained by Congress workers' disappointment, I am confident the party high command will assess the reasons for the defeat," she said. She added it won't be "business as usual" in Haryana and expressed confidence those who negated efforts to bring the Congress back to power after 10 years would be identified.
BJP leads in Haryana, Congress trails behind
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to form the government in Haryana for the third time in a row, leading in 48 seats of the 90-member assembly. The Congress, which hoped to return to power after a decade, managed to win just 37 seats. Selja hoped all factors leading to these results would be thoroughly examined by the party leadership.
Factionalism and parallel campaigns mark Haryana Congress
Factionalism within the Haryana Congress was apparent even before the assembly elections. Selja had publicly voiced her concerns about Hooda's leadership on several occasions. The divide was visible when Hooda led a "Ghar Ghar Congress" campaign, while Selja, Randeep Surjewala, and Kiran Choudhry—seen as the anti-Hooda camp—launched a parallel "Congress Sandesh Yatra" campaign.
Allegations against Hooda and Selja's opposition
Allegations were also leveled against Hooda, the former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, of attempting to take control of the state unit of Congress. Notably, Selja had earlier opposed Hooda's nomination as the party's Chief Ministerial candidate. "Whenever there is a party government, the Chief Minister leads the election. As per past practice, the party never projects anyone when we are in opposition," she said.
Congress's Lok Sabha success fails to translate in Haryana
Despite winning five out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in the recent election and increasing its vote share from 28.42% in 2019 to 43.67%, Congress couldn't make a comeback in Haryana. The party's failure to handle internal conflicts and put up a united front prevented it from converting Lok Sabha poll success into a win in the state assembly, reports suggested.
