Faction-ridden Haryana Congress implodes over poll ticket distribution

Two frontline Congress leaders from Haryana Ashok Tanwar and Capt Ajay Singh Yadav have accused the party leadership of “selling tickets.”

The tussle in the faction-ridden Congress unit in Haryana over selection of candidates for the October 21 assembly elections reached the doorstep of the party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday with ousted state unit chief Ashok Tanwar’s supporters who were denied tickets staging a noisy protest outside her 10 Janpath residence in Delhi

Tanwar and another frontline leader Capt Yadav accused the party leadership of “selling tickets” and targeted it for ignoring those who had slogged to strengthen the Congress in Haryana in past five years.

The Congress was expected to release list of its candidates ahead of October 4 deadline for filing nominations. In what was seen as a last ditch effort, Ashok Tanwar, who was recently ousted from the post of state Congress chief in the state, and his supporters reached Delhi and targeted in particular former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for “ignoring genuine workers” during the ticket distribution exercise.

“We are seeking justice from party president Sonia Gandhi,” Tanwar said when contacted over phone, repeatedly describing the exercise to select candidates as “one sided.”

“Those holding protest here in Delhi are the genuine party workers who had worked with me for five years. They must get the tickets to contest polls. It is my moral duty to support their cause and highlight their anguish.”

While the ticket seekers supported by Tanwar were holding protests, senior Haryana Congress leader and former state finance minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav also launched an attack at the party leadership.

Capt Yadav took to Twitter to target the screening committee headed by Madhu Sudan Mistri for finalising the list of candidates for assembly elections by “totally ignoring those Congress candidates who worked with loyalty for five years.”

He further said that party has given preference to “defectors and non-Congress men” in distribution of tickets and described the exercise “disgusting.”

Tanwar while addressing the protesting party workers in Delhi, said people who joined the party recently were being rewarded with tickets at the cost of those who worked to strengthen the party in past five years.

Accusing the Congress leadership of fielding undeserving candidates and party hoppers for the October 21 assembly elections, the ousted state party chief alleged the party was selling tickets to “undeserving” candidates.

Earlier, Tanwar’s audio message was in circulation in which he called his supporters to protest outside the AICC headquarters in Delhi on Wednesday.

After the BJP came to power in Haryana in October 2014 and Ashok Tanwar was made Congress president, Haryana Congress had been grappling with factionalism. The party lost all the 10 Lok Sabha seats with huge margins and ahead of the crucial assembly elections it remains a divided house.

In an effort to contain this infighting, the Congress last month appointed former Union minister Kumari Selja as state party chief, replacing Tanwar - the key demand of Rohtak strongman Hooda who was also appointed chairperson of the election management committee.

While Hooda camp was consistently targeting Tanwar for weakening the party in Haryana, Tanwar is now grabbing every opportunity to target his bête noire Hooda.

As the Congress president Sonia Gandhi had appointed Hooda the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader in place of Kiran Choudhry, the latter is also miffed over the distribution of tickets.

The infighting in Congress is a clear advantage to the ruling BJP which is aiming to retain power.