Denied chair, Bhajan wrecks Cong’s Haryana party

Bhajan Lal told The Indian Express that he had turned down Sonia’s offer of governorship along side the deputy chief ministership for his legislator-son Chander Mohan. He said that he had told Sonia when he met her at her instance: ‘‘A political person wants to stay in politics. I am not interested in a naukri.’’

With her hands already full, Sonia is trying for peace with Bhajan Lal. She may, therefore, upgrade her package to Bhajan Lal, which may include a Cabinet berth at the Centre—in return for peace in the state party. What worries the party is his past record: the wily Haryana politician engineered an overnight defection with a full-fledged state government from the Janata Party to Congress in 1980.

Indicating Sonia’s mood, Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters: ‘‘Bhajan Lalji has probably taken this selection (of Hooda) very seriously. We don’t view this (boycott of Hooda’s election by him) as seriously.’’

Dwivedi confessed that the party leadership had known that Bhajan Lal may not come to the meeting. When asked for the reason, he said, ‘‘In politics, everybody has his aspirations. He probably took this step under their pressure.’’

The CLP meeting started 45 minutes late as efforts continued to take Bhajan Lal on board. The Bhajan Lal camp had a strength of 22, but two of his loyalists—BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra and former minister Mahendra Pratap—deserted him to participate in the meeting.

Hooda’s installation_thanks mainly to Sonia’s political secretary Ahmed Patel_marks a paradigm shift in Congress politics in the caste crucible of Haryana. After keeping Bhajan Lal, perceived to be leader of non-Jats, at the top, the party has now tried to win over the powerful Jat community, commanding 21 per cent votes. It is seen as a positive signal to the community in western UP and Rajasthan, which had drifted away from the party.

It’s also bad news for INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala, whose politics hinges on his hold over Jats. Hooda, Lok Sabha member from Rohtak, has defeated Devi Lal thrice.

In the intra-Jat politics, Hooda, as a Deswali Jat from the heartland, has better credentials for leading the community than Chautala, a Bagri Jat from a village on the fringe of the state.