As senior leader and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja remains “firmly unmoved” and refuses to campaign because of her “displeasure” over the denial of tickets on her recommendations, the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge today cancelled his two public meetings in Haryana.
Kharge was supposed to address one public meeting in Ambala and another in Gharaunda today. A statement issued by the Media Department of the AICC, released just an hour before the scheduled meeting, read, “Cong President is unable to travel today because he has been advised to rest. Both rallies in Haryana will be addressed by state leaders”.
Selja has made no secret of her displeasure over the distribution of tickets as the party high command went mostly by the recommendations of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Not only were her recommendations ignored, but she believes that Hooda has fielded his supporters as “rebel” candidates from the constituencies where some of her nominees have been fielded.
One example is that from Ambala Cantonment where Chitra Sarwara is contesting as an “independent” against the official party candidate Parvinder Parri. Chitra’s father Nirmal Singh is contesting as a Congress candidate from Ambala City.
Nirmal Singh is a close associate of Hooda. When Selja was moved to Ambala parliamentary constituency and contested from there, he felt isolated and disillusioned and joined the Aam Aadmi Party. He returned to Congress, along with his daughter Chitra before the 2024 General Elections. Hooda batted for both him and his daughter to get the party tickets.
Chitra has contested as an independent in 2019 also and polled about 20,000 votes. Her candidature, as also that of her father, was strongly resisted by Selja. While Hooda managed to get Nirmal Singh the Ambala City nomination, Chitra was left out and she decided to contest as an independent once again, allegedly with the “blessings” of Hooda.
She was expelled from the party on Sunday ahead of the, now cancelled, rallies of Kharge.
Selja’s “silence” is bothering the Congress too much. Added to her being ignored over ticket distribution was the casteist slur by a prominent Congress worker at a public rally against her. This amounted to “adding insult to her injury”. Although that particular worker, believed to be a Hooda supporter has tendered a public apology and Hooda also issued a clarification, it not only hurt Selja personally, but also several Dalit workers and supporters of the party.
The senior Congress leadership in the party is busy in trying to mollify her amidst the reports of the Bharatiya Janata Party extending an olive branch to her. Senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Manoharlal Khattar extended an open invitation to her to join the BJP. That Selja did not reject the “invitation”, which normally a leader would do, has added to the worries of the Congress.
Interestingly, when another senior party leader Kiran Chaudhary deserted the Congress and joined the BJP, Selja justified her move saying she had been forced to leave. Being close to Chaudhary and her being already with the BJP, there are apprehensions that she may prevail over Selja to switch sides.
Given her standing and stature in the party, it looks quite “unlikely” that Selja may make a switchover. She has been very close to Sonia Gandhi also. But political proximities come with expiry dates when there are examples like that of Natwar Singh, who was disowned within a fraction of a moment.
Moreover, when the proximity with the leader cannot get her a few nominations, it is hardly any consolation. Her silence is intriguing and worrying for the party. She is not only a prominent leader but is considered a voice by her community. Even her silence will be costly for Congress and in case she decides something more that might prove to be very damaging.
At the same time, a section of Congress leaders observes that Selja should “understand and appreciate” the hard reality that there is no popular and influential leader in Haryana right now as compared to Hooda. They believe that only Hooda can lead the Congress comeback. Moreover, unlike Selja, who has mostly remained in national politics, Hooda has spent most of his time in state politics.
The party leadership believes that it was in a strong and comfortable position in the state and Selja’s campaigning or not campaigning may not make much difference. It thinks that her “displeasure” with the party over ticket distribution and distancing herself from the campaigning may make some news headlines, but it may not have a proportionate impact on the ground.
At stake are Selja’s career and credibility as well.
Follow us
