Why Haryana Congress can't afford to ignore Bhupinder Hooda?

As the Congress party struggles to make important appointments of the Leader of the Opposition and new state unit president in Haryana, the party leaders indicate that it will be difficult to sideline ex-chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s claims to the post. 

 

Most of the legislators have suggested the name of 77-year-old Hooda as the LoP. "Therefore it will not be in the interest of the party to sideline him," said a Congress legislator.

 

Notably, it has been more than six months that the party has delayed the appointments. The absence of an LoP in the state assembly has only helped the BJP government as it has been actively pushing forward its development agenda.

 

According to party insiders, the tussle seems to continue as the top leadership wants to make way for the next line of leaders. However, Hooda is said to have firmly dug in his heels, standing resolute on his demand to lead the party unit.

 

A section of leaders thinks that if Hooda is sidetracked, it could dearly damage the party and reduce its organisational footprints across the state. A senior Congress leader in Haryana said, "The party is still contemplating. If they don't give Hooda any position, it might make the regular functioning of the party difficult."

 

To bring in the perspective, Hooda was given the chiefdom in Haryana to navigate the party to victory in the last three assembly elections. However, he failed repeatedly and was defeated by the saffron camp.

 

The Congress fancied its chances during the 2024 Lok Sabha and later during the assembly polls. It was widely believed that the anti-incumbency against Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar would help the grand old party return to power. However, owing to the infighting in the state unit—the party was divided between the Hooda and Kumari Selja camps—the BJP won a historic third term winning an all-time high of 48 seats. 

 

The Congress state leaders had opposed the alliance with the AAP also. The stunning Haryana victory for the BJP exposed the Congress’ shortcomings. The reverberations were felt a few months later in neighbouring Delhi, too.

 

There were voices from the high command that they should move on from Hooda to other state leaders bringing in generational change. With the party’s focus on building its organisation at the grassroots level, the party is still struggling to find a face who could bring fresh energy to the state’s political scene and create a robust organisation. How the grand old party would navigate the tricky situation of recognising the claims of the older leadership versus the new remains to be seen.

India