With the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been power in Haryana for the past ten years, attempting to battle anti-incumbency as well as internal dissensions, the Congress is all set to wrest power in the State. In fact, the grand old party is perhaps for the first time, very well prepared, and unless the Saffron Brigade does something spectacular to retain its position, the Congress would go into the October 1 polls with a distinct advantage. To begin with, the High Command has more or less made it clear to various other state leaders, that the election would be fought under the overall captaincy of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and he shall be both the spearhead as well as the pivot of the campaign. On his part, Hooda in his various interviews has been reiterating that as per the Congress tradition, the next Chief Minister would be elected by the chosen MLAs, if his party wins, with the final approval of the top leadership. He has also been clearing the air about speculation surrounding his son, Deepender Singh Hooda, as the likely choice, by stating, that “I have neither retired nor am I tired’’.
The BJP has many internal issues which need to be ironed out. For instance, former deputy CM, Anil Vij is brooding at being sidelined after the last reshuffle. Former party chief Ram Bilas Sharma feels marginalized. Captain Abhimanyu was hopeful that he would be given a Lok Sabha ticket but was overlooked. Supporters of Rao Inderjit, Union Minister of State, are unhappy why their leader has not been projected as the Chief minister despite his seniority.
Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of former CM, Bhajan Lal, who had joined the Saffron Brigade after being disillusioned with the Congress, is miffed that instead of him, Kiran Chowdhury, daughter-in-law of former CM, Bansi Lal, has been given the Rajya Sabha nomination from Haryana in the seat vacated by Deepender Hooda. Kiran had recently joined the BJP and it is expected that her daughter Shruti may now contest the Assembly polls from Tosham, which has been the family bastion and could possibly face her cousin, who may be fielded by the Congress. There are problems within the Congress as well. Kumari Selja, who was elected from Sirsa and Randeep Singh Surjewala, senior leader and Rajya Sabha member, both also lead factions. Their supporters feel that they should also contest the Assembly polls, but the High Command is unlikely to grant them this permission. They are also demanding tickets for their supporters but going by last time’s experience, they may have to convince the top leadership about the merit and winnability factor of their nominees.
In 2019, at last 40 candidates, who were recommended by the anti-Hooda faction, fared poorly in the polls and the High Command is now determined to end factionalism, and back only those who can win. The party is depending on the findings of the surveys it has been conducting, which are both scientific and revealing. Sources said that Ajay Maken, party treasurer and screening committee head, who is well versed with the art of deciphering empirical data, could play an important role in the exercise. Incidentally, Ajay has recently cleared the difficult exam of being a member of the prestigious Statistical Institute in Kolkata and is to be awarded his degree in January next year.
The Congress has identified seats on the basis of caste domination and thus the nominees who shall be fielded would be from those communities which have the largest say. It is being assumed that the Jats, who are against the BJP, would all stand by the party due to Hooda’s leadership and thus, the Congress would have the opportunity to explore options of giving tickets to those who are from many other castes.
There are also constituencies, where the Congress has not won for a long time and thus, they would get attention of the High Command. In this context, for instance from Bawal (reserved), which borders Rajasthan, and from where the Congress has not won in 32 years, the party is considering the candidacy of Dr Teena Karamveer, a Delhi University lecturer who hails from there and who is highly qualified, and has done a book on Dr Ambedkar as well. In Dadri, where the BJP has been the dominant force, the claim of Ravinder Singh, alias Rabhu Pawar, is under consideration. There are seats where the Congress had lost by a small margin and those could also go to the losing candidates of last time.
However, all the sitting MLAs are unlikely to be repeated and thus, many could end up not getting the nomination. The five Lok Sabha candidates of the party who lost could also be fielded for the Assembly. For instance, Rao Dan Singh could be contesting from Bhiwani and Mahendra Pratap or his son from a seat in the Faridabad area. Gurgaon, may go to a newcomer since Raj Babbar could opt out. The party on the basis of the surveys has also identified the Bell Weather seats, meaning that the party which forms the government in the State, usually wins these constituencies also. Therefore, the approach appears to be extremely scientific but unless it gets implemented through proper monitoring, the party may not reap the political dividends. The BJP is not going to sit idle and allow the state to slip away so easily and would leave no stone unturned to retain its hold.
