Amitabh Shukla /
Knives are out in Haryana Congress. As the party conducts an autopsy of Hisar bypoll, rival factions in the state unit have practically come to blows, putting the blame on each other for defeat in the high-profile election, muddying the water further.
A meeting to take stock of the humiliating defeat, find reasons and take remedial measures took place here on Friday at the Congress Bhawan here. The meeting turned into a free for all with the usual blame game being played out in the presence of office-bearers of the state unit. Nothing came out of the meeting as it was the exhibition of lung power inside and outside the venue.
To ensure his political future after losing his security deposit in the Hisar by polls, the results of which has shaken the Congress at the state and national level, Jai Prakash blamed Birender Singh, an AICC General Secretary and Union Minister Selja, both having considerable influence in Haryana and considered arch rivals of Bhupinder Singh Hooda in state politics. The moment the issue came up in the meeting; there were heated exchange all around.
Without naming anybody individually, Jai Prakash said, “we will expose those Congress leaders who campaigned against the party”.
The defeated Congress candidate had earlier written a letter to party President Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders blaming Birender and Selja for the defeat and pointed out that in their native villages, the Congress got very few votes. For Jai Prakash, it was the second consecutive loss from Hisar, having lost the 2009 Lok Sabha elections as well where he was third behind Bhajan Lal and the INLD candidate. In 2009, he managed a respectable vote count, this time, he lost his deposit. Jai Prakash is considered a party hopper in the state and he has had a stint in all the regional parties and was considered a weak candidate from the very beginning.
It is no secret that Birender wanted a ticket for his son, an IAS officer, presently posted as Deputy Commisioner,
Selja too has been taking pot shots at Hooda time and again. She has opposed the land acquisition policy of the state government, particularly for setting up an industrial park in Ambala, her Lok Sabha constituency. Both Birender and Selja campaigned in Hisar but remained indifferent as the Hooda supporters say it was a “token presence” to “mark attendance” rather than a serious attempt to canvass for the party candidate.
Birender counters the allegation of Jai Prakash saying that the trend was similar in all the segments of Hisar parliamentary constituency and in none of the segments was the party in a leading position. He maintains that it is Om Prakash Chautala who is the MLA from Uchana and he (Birender) was defeated in the last assembly polls.
Even as Birender and Selja have been targeting Hooda, Gurgaon MP and former Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh has opened another front saying the Chief Minister should accept responsibility for the party's loss. He blamed wrong choice of candidate for the loss in the high profile election.
The soft spoken Hooda has not reacted so far against his rivals in the state but has accepted responsibility for the defeat “I accept and respect the verdict of the people of Hisar Parliamentary Constituency in all humility. Being the head of the Congress Party government in the state, I do not absolve myself of the responsibility for the defeat of the party...” After the meeting on Friday, he nevertheless, said a complaint will be made against those leaders who are responsible for the poor performance and contributed to the defeat of the party.
Hooda detractors in the party have been alleging that development in the state is limited to the Rohtak belt, home turf of Hooda and his family and want an even distribution of the developmental schemes all over the state. There are other differences too. As the state gets ready for two more assembly by polls, the challenge for Hooda has only grown. (Oct 22, 2011)
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