Despite facing setbacks in adjoining Rajasthan and the repeated efforts of the Congress high command, Haryana has failed to learn any lessons, as the widened rift among the party stalwarts continues to prevail. This was evident from the meeting held at the party headquarters under the chairmanship of the state party incharge, Deepak Babria, as several party stalwarts refrained from attending. Notably, the meeting, scheduled on January 15, aimed to divulge information about the outline of the ‘Ghar Ghar Congress Har Ghar Congress’ initiative starting from January 15 across the state, as well as to convey a message of unity among the divided factions within the party. Despite the ongoing infighting, all efforts made so far have been futile as the feud still prevails.
It is pertinent to mention that the Congress continues to witness a widened rift among party bigwigs, namely Bhupender Singh Hooda and leaders of the opposite faction, Randeep Surjewala (AICC General Secretary), Kumari Selja (former HPCC president), and Kiran Choudhary (MLA from Tosham), known as the SRK team. Three of the working state party presidents, namely Shruti Chaudhary, Suresh Gupta, and Ramkishan Gurjer from the SRK team, remained absent.
Upset with Former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda’s upper hand and unilateral hold in Haryana Congress, all three leaders refrained from the party, which is considered a calculative move by SRK. Although the opposition trio within the party is continuously working to weaken Hooda and strengthen their position, they have not succeeded to a considerable extent.
While Hooda’s aides are promoting him as the CM face of the party ahead of the polls, the SRK group maintains that the party high command is the supreme authority to make the final decision regarding the CM face. Even bigwigs from other parties mention from time to time that Hooda is a dominating face in Haryana Congress, reflecting his position in the party. The party high command is also aware that Hooda cannot be ignored, and the ongoing internal rift between both factions necessitates a foolproof strategy to bring it to an end.
Although all leaders from SRK claim there is no rift between them, it is an open fact that they have joined hands against Bhupinder Singh Hooda to weaken his position, which is an uphill battle for them. Despite efforts by party president Deepak Babria, the internal conflict still seems to persist. It is familiar and needless to say that Hooda possesses strong influence and a unilateral hold in state politics. It was only due to Hooda that Congress was able to secure a reasonable number of seats in the assembly polls held in 2019. Like now, the trio—Randeep Surjewala, Kumari Selja, and Kiran Choudhary—had their differences then also, but the dominance of Hooda’s faction prompted them to join hands to survive in the party and for political mileage.