The formation of the Congress’ organisation in Haryana has hit yet another roadblock. The party’s Haryana affairs in-charge Deepak Babaria, who has so far been unable to complete the task assigned to him by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is leaving no stone unturned to make progress.
Babaria is scheduled to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday with a list of possible district head appointees. Notably, Kharge also met with former Chief Minister and Opposition leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and party state president Chaudhary Udaybhan two days ago.
Sources say Babaria intends to take forward his formula of appointing executive district heads along with the district heads, which might be discussed in his meeting with Kharge. Additionally, AICC-level district coordinators might be asked to provide feedback about the potential district heads. This time the coordinators will be fielded along with the executive district presidents to get feedback regarding divisional-level officials.
Although the coordinators had held meetings in the districts earlier, tensions are on the rise between the supporters of Hooda’s faction and the “SRK” group, which comprises Selja Kumari, Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Kiran Choudhary. This led to sloganeering in several areas while other districts reported scuffles among party workers. The SRK group has also raised questions about Babaria’s working style. Due to resentment, the faction has not even nominated their supporters for the district positions. Meanwhile, in-charge Babaria has tried to hold a one-to-one meeting to discuss the possible names of the district heads, but the group did not respond.
Considering the current state of the party and its internal power struggles, the formation of the state organisation seems unlikely. While party leaders have expressed confidence about the Lok Sabha elections, the possibility of contesting the elections with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) under the I.N.D.I.A alliance is unavoidable. State president Udaybhan had earlier protested the decision but now has changed his tune.
It is believed that this tonal shifted after directions from the Delhi leadership. Speaking to the media in New Delhi on Friday, Udaybhan said, “Congress is preparing for the Lok Sabha elections at its own level. Aam Aadmi Party has no support base in Haryana. Therefore, the question of giving him any seat in the Lok Sabha elections does not arise. If the Congress high command says that the Aam Aadmi Party will have to make a sacrifice by giving a seat, then we will do so.”
Rajya Sabha MP Deependra Hooda said, “ The people of Haryana are upset with BJP-JJP, that is why they are coming to Congress. Congress will form the government in the state…After coming to power, Congress will fulfill every promise made to the people of the state.” Hooda continued, “Congress will not form an alliance with INLD under any circumstances. If these people get even one seat, they will go with BJP.” The Indian National Lok Dal has earlier supported the BJP in Rajya Sabha and Presidential elections.
