Deadlock on Haryana assembly LoP continues in Congress, decision after fact finding committee report: Sources

Despite Haryana assembly election results declared on October 8, the Congress is yet to finalise its Leader of Opposition in the state assembly as there is no consensus built on the names suggested by party leaders and the leaders are waiting for the party’s committee to first submit its report with the Central leadership, sources said on Wednesday.

The Congress was unable to wrest power from  the BJP in the state where it managed to win 37 seats out of 90 in the state. The party source said that a meeting of the party’s fact finding committee formed under the chairmanship of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel met on Monday in Delhi and discussed the reasons for the party’s loss with all the five Lok Sabha MP’s separately. The committee also met the former Leader of Opposotion and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state unit chief Uday Bhan separately, where state incharge Deepak Babaria was also present.

The party source indicated that the committee members consisting of AICC treasurer Ajay Maken and Harish Chaudhary asked the MPs if the dissenting view of Kumari Selja and Bhupinder Singh Hooda led to party’s defeat in Haryana.

The source so pointed out that the committee also asked about selection of candidates, criteria picked by the high command and about the role of EVMs for party’s defeat in Haryana. When asked about if the discussion took place on the vacant post of Leader of Opposition in the state assemblies for almost last months, the source said that two names were given forward. One was of Chandramohan Bishnoi and another of Ashok Arora.

The source said, however, a decision has been left till the time the fact finding committee does not submits its report with the Central leadership. The source said that there are different views in the party looking at the past of the two leaders suggested by state leaders for the post of LoP, which needs complete discussion to have a united view. The source said that many leaders also want Bhupinder Singh Hooda for the LoP post in the assembly.

The Congress, which was looking to wrest power from the BJP after 10 years managed to get only 37 seats in the 90-member house, while BJP formed the govt for the third time in a row by winning 48 seats. Independents won thre seats, while two seats went to INLD.