Chandigarh The Congress high command on Wednesday, after much delay and deliberations, appointed four-term Lok Sabha MP Kumari Selja (56) as the first woman president of Haryana Congress. A Dalit leader, Selja replaced Ashok Tanwar, another Dalit leader who served as the state Congress chief for over five years.
In a bid to placate former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda who turned defiant couple of weeks ago, the party high command named him as the leader of the Congress legislature party (CLP) in the state assembly and chairman of the election management committee. Hooda was also appointed as the chairman of a coordination committee before the Lok Sabha polls.
The balancing act fashioned by the party high command, however, may prove to be too little and too late. The ruling BJP is riding high and is already in poll campaign mode for the last three months while the Congress is in complete disarray.
Emphasising Hooda’s role, party in-charge for Haryana Ghulam Nabi Azad said in New Delhi that with assembly polls round the corner, the role of election management committee chairman is very important.
Negotiating a peace-making deal with Hooda, who sounded rebellious by declaring himself as the chief ministerial candidate with or without the Congress at a Rohtak rally couple of weeks ago, the Congress leadership has given him ample elbow room to project himself. His contrary views on the abrogation of Article 370, loudly articulated at the Rohtak rally and his subtle criticism of the party leadership also seem to have been overlooked by the Congress hierarchy.
{{/usCountry}}Negotiating a peace-making deal with Hooda, who sounded rebellious by declaring himself as the chief ministerial candidate with or without the Congress at a Rohtak rally couple of weeks ago, the Congress leadership has given him ample elbow room to project himself. His contrary views on the abrogation of Article 370, loudly articulated at the Rohtak rally and his subtle criticism of the party leadership also seem to have been overlooked by the Congress hierarchy.
{{/usCountry}}“It’s a game of perception. Being the CLP leader may not mean much at this juncture as the assembly polls are close at hand. But now, he will rightfully have a say in the distribution of tickets as the CLP leader is a member of the screening committee for picking candidates for polls. Also, by appointing Hooda as the chairman of the election management committee, the party high command has added to his weight,’’ said a former Congress minister.
Azad told reporters that Hooda’s wide range of accomplishments as a two-time chief minister was the reason why the high command chose him to supervise the upcoming assembly elections.
Political experts say the party has come up with a compromise deal by appointing Selja as state Congress chief and Hooda as the CLP leader. “On the face of it, they have replaced a Dalit leader with a Dalit (Selja for Tanwar) and a Jat leader with a Jat (Hooda for Kiran Choudhry). But essentially, they have addressed Hooda’s gripe against Ashok Tanwar’s leadership. At the same time, they did not give him the reins of the party and appointed Selja instead,’’ said a Congress leader.
On a question about the role of other senior Congress leaders like Tanwar and Kiran Choudhry, Azad said there is ample space for everyone in the set up.