It took the Congress a long time to depend on and repose trust in regional satraps. It did yield some dividends for some time. But over a period the party has come to realize that this policy has its shortcomings, particularly in states where it has multiple sets of prominent and influential leaders.
It paid a heavy price in Rajasthan by relying too much on Ashok Gehlot while ignoring Sachin Pilot. The Congress risks the same fate by reposing too much trust in former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana while ignoring other leaders like Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Buoyed by its reasonably better performance in the 2024 General Elections (as compared to the 2019 General Elections), the Congress is optimistically looking for a comeback in Haryana after ten years. It was the powerful combination of the Jat and the Dalit votes that saw Congress winning five of the nine parliamentary constituencies it contested in Haryana. One seat, Kurukshetra, had been left to the INDIA ally, the Aam Aadmi Party.
Capitalising on anti-incumbency
The party has also been looking forward to capitalising on the anti-incumbency of ten years against the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state. While it has managed to consolidate most of the Jat votes, it still has a long way to go to win over the Dalit votes in the same proportion. In the parliamentary elections, when there was no fight for one-upmanship, it did not face any problems.
Now in the assembly elections, it is an entirely different ballgame. Kumari Selja considered herself to be a strong contender for the Chief Ministership. Being a woman and a Dalit with so much seniority, she and her supporters thought her to be a prospective candidate for the Chief Minister’s position. She was considered to be in the reckoning till the time high command conveyed a clear signal that it would be Hooda only.
Till the time she thought the game was open, everything seemed to go well with the Congress in Haryana. But once the tickets were distributed, Bhupinder Singh Hooda walked away with the lion’s share, getting 72 of the 90 assembly segments. The message from the high command is obvious that it is completely and exclusively depending on Hooda.
The right way ahead for Congress
This may prove to be a monumental blunder for the party in a state where caste plays an important factor like it plays in Bihar. By handing over almost the entire state to Hooda, it has made the Chief Ministerial choice also clear thus shutting the doors on Selja and Randeep Surjewala.
Plus, the outrageous caste remarks made against Kumari Selja by a Congress worker during a party programme have not only hurt her personally but have also led to widespread resentment among the Dalit community. Although Bhupinder Singh Hooda tried to do some damage control by announcing that Kumari Selja is like his sister, the damage has already been done.
While Selja is maintaining a studied silence, leaders close to her say that she is feeling hurt and betrayed by the high command, which has not left any hope for her to be the Chief Minister. The caste remarks by a Congress worker during a
party programme were like adding “insult to the injury”.
Her supporters maintain that the high command, by giving clear signals as to who was going to be the Chief Minister in case the Congress won, has left hardly any option for Selja. In case Congress wins and Hooda becomes the Chief Minister, there will be no hope or scope for her for the next ten years. That is the reason, her supporters say, she has started maintaining a distance from the campaigning.
So much so, that she had hardly any say in assembly segments falling in her Sirsa-Fatehabad parliamentary constituency making her feel dismayed and disappointed.
Her keeping aloof from the party campaign will be a clear signal to the Dalit community as to what she “wants” and what she “does not want”. This may prove not only disadvantageous but disastrous as well for the Congress party. If a significant chunk of the Dalit voters decides not to vote for the Congress in view of the treatment meted out to Selja, it can have serious repercussions for the winning prospects of its candidates in several seats.
Voters are aware today
There is already a lot of awareness among the voters today. More so in a place like Haryana, where caste polarization is an important factor during elections, ignoring and sidelining Selja may come at a heavy cost for the Congress. Depending exclusively on Hooda in 2024 may not prove to be a wise decision. The party should have kept the question of Chief Ministership open till the conclusion of the elections. By making the choice more than obvious, it has taken a great risk, which may not pay off.
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