Factional feuds in the Congress came to the fore again today, during the PM’s rally in Ambala, when a section of Congressmen began hooting the moment Haryana Congress president Bhajan Lal began his speech.For Bhajan Lal, a frontrunner for the Chief Minister’s post if his party comes to power, it was an embarrassing situation to be confronted with such vocal and public opposition from his own partymen and that too in front of the Prime Minister.As soon as the leader got up to address the gathering at Gandhi maidan, some party workers also rose to their feet waving Congress flags and asking him to sit down. While Bhajan Lal continued speaking, the shouts and jeers grew louder.‘‘Koi baat nahi,’’ said a nonchalant Bhajan Lal, looking at Minister of State Kumari Selja, who unsuccessfully tried to pacify the gathering while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh looked on. ‘‘Baith ja, door ja’’ could be heard as the protesters raised their hands. Sensing more trouble, Bhajan Lal then cut short his speech and the din died. The workers who hooted Bhajan Lal reportedly belonged to the Nirmal Singh group of Bhupinder Hooda camp.Singh, a Congress candidate from Naggal, was also present on the dais. He was, however, received well by the crowd. Later, some party workers confirmed that the dissidents did belong to the Nirmal Singh camp, but Singh himself denied any hand in the incident. ‘‘Why would I embarrass our state party president, that too in front of the Prime Minister?’’ he said. Asked who these party workers owed their allegiance to, he said he had no idea. ‘‘What’s surprising about the incident? Bhajan Lal has seen opposition from the people where ever he goes in the state, including Nuh, when Sonia Gandhi was visiting,’’ he added.A tussle for leadership has been going on among the two main factions of the Haryana Congress — one led by Bhajan Lal and the other by Rohtak MP Hooda. And Hooda makes no bones about his chief ministerial ambitions.
