Haryana assembly elections: Front-runner in polls, Congress plagued by factional feuds

The Congress, which is Haryana’s principal opposition party, remains a divided house with a number of party leaders hostile towards each other.

Buoyed by its impressive performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the faction-ridden Congress in Haryana is on a high, looking all set to challenge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming assembly elections.

With leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda in control, the Congress is also hoping for consolidation of about 25% Jats, the dominant community in the state. (HT File)

Not only did the grand old party win five seats, two with impressive margins, in the Lok Sabha elections, its voting percentage also increased from 28.51% 2019 to 43.68 % now. The party also took leads in 42 of the 90 assembly segments spread across 10 Lok Sabha seats.

Though things look hunky dory for it, factors such as complacency, infighting, lack of organisational structure at the district and block levels and too many aspirants for tickets have potential to dent party’s prospects.

Grand old party, a divided house

The Congress, which is Haryana’s principal opposition party, remains a divided house with a number of party leaders hostile towards each other. A big downside for the state Congress has been its inability or disinclination to have an organisational set up in the districts and blocks for the past decade, periodic desertions, lack of synchronisation, internal sabotage, indiscipline and factional feuds. However, in spite of these glaring deficiencies, the Congress remains the prime challenger to the BJP in the state.

A political scientist at Panjab University, Chandigarh, Prof Ashutosh Kumar feels that Congress is quite accustomed to factional feuds and infighting. “I do not see factionalism and infighting having much of an adverse impact on party’s performance in the assembly elections. Remember, all the top leaders, including the likes of Kumari Selja (even if she is not contesting), would have to work towards protecting their turf to keep themselves relevant,” said Prof Kumar.

Banking on anti-incumbency sentiment against the BJP

Political experts say the Congress would exploit the decade-long anti-incumbency sentiment against the BJP government in Haryana. “There is a groundswell of anger against the ruling BJP because of its anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-employee and anti-youth policies. The Lok Sabha election results clearly indicated this. The Congress is well on its way to sweep the assembly polls,” says former chief minister and leader of party’s legislature group, Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

As was seen during the Lok Sabha campaign, the Congress is relying on the support from an incensed peasantry, government employees and unemployed youth. With Hooda in control, the party is also hoping for consolidation of about 25% Jats, the dominant community in the state. “The fate of Indian National Lok Dal and Jannayak Janta Party has been sealed even before the assembly goes to the polls. Both Jat-centric parties proved to be a disaster in the Lok Sabha polls. The INLD got 1.74% votes polled while the JJP got less than a percent,” said a political expert.

Ticket distribution remains key to its chances

Political experts feel that selection of candidates and ticket distribution remains an area of concern for the Congress. “On several occasions, the party lost advantage due to imprudent selection of candidates. For instance, the party lost seats in Hisar district in 2019 assembly elections due to poor selection of candidates at the instance of a prominent leader,” said an MLA who did not wish to be named. So, despite supposedly having an upper hand after the Lok Sabha results, the Congress remains susceptible to losing the initiative, experts say.

Party sources said that there are about 20 assembly constituencies spread across party strongholds where the Congress needs to be careful and firm on merit-based selections. “This does not mean that merit and winnability is given a go by in other constituencies. Candidate selection will be crucial in strongholds as the BJP would try to do social engineering to reduce the party’s tally in tandem with the INLD and JJP,” said a party source.

The state unit is also overwhelmed with aspirants as about 2,556 party leaders and workers are seeking tickets for the 90 assembly seats. “This rush for the party tickets is a double-edged sword. On one hand it conveys an impression about the party’s popularity and rise while on the other, it is a sure shot recipe for subversion. “There are many assembly constituencies where 50 to 70 applicants are seeking party tickets. How would the successful nominee and party pacify the losers?’’ said a party MLA.