Congress's Haryana Result Assessment Meeting: Bhupinder Singh Hooda Skips
After the electoral setback in the Haryana assembly elections, the Congress central leadership today convened a meeting to assess the dismal result the party received, though it had confidence to come to power after a decade.
The meeting was held at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence this morning. Notably, the state party bigwigs, including former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state party president Udai Bhan, did not attend the assessment discussion.
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According to a report by Indian Express, the former Haryana chief minister was expected to participate in the meeting, which was to be presided over by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge. Notably, one of the reasons being cited for the failure was the infighting for the chief ministerial position between Selja Kumari and Hooda. It is reported that most of the candidates fielded in the Haryana elections were Hooda loyalists, drawing Selja Kumari’s grudge, which was also visible during campaigning.
In the results for the 90-member Haryana assembly announced on Tuesday, the BJP emerged victorious, accumulating 48 seats while the Congress trailed behind with 37. The result was surprising to many who expected a Congress wave as the exit polls too suggested, given the purported anti-incumbency due to several issues.
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“On the table will be the infighting in the run-up to the elections between Selja Kumari and Hooda. It will also be seen if the competition for the CM’s post between the top leaders in Haryana was a reason for our poor show. Other issues that will be discussed will include ticket allocation and whether the party should have allied with the Samajwadi Party,” the media house quoted a Congress leader.
However, the party has also raised concern about the integrity of the election and alleged EVM tampering during the elections.
