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The Haryana Congress on Wednesday informed B K Hariprasad, the newly-appointed state in charge, that with the Budget Session of the Assembly starting March 7, it was “extremely important” to appoint a Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader, who can assume the role of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the House.
It has been nearly five months since Congress lost the Haryana polls to the BJP for the third consecutive time since 2014. Congress is yet to declare its legislature party leader. There being no CLP leader till date, the party MLAs have attended three sittings of the Assembly without a LoP.
There is no clear consensus within the party on who should be the new CLP leader with a party section opposing former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s claim to the post.
Following the meeting, while state leaders hinted that the party high command is “considering to bring in some changes at the top level”, they also claimed that “the majority of MLAs are on Hooda’s side”. Hooda was the LoP in the previous House.
The meeting – a first since the after October 2024 poll debacle – was attended by senior Haryana leaders, MPs as well as current and former MLAs, in New Delhi.
Sources said that at the meeting, Hariprasad asked several leaders – “What if we do not make Hooda the CLP leader? What will happen?”
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior leader said, “I, and many others, told him that nothing will happen… I have seen several such meetings in the past too, nothing changes.”
“Currently, of the 37 Congress MLAs, at least 30 are on (Hooda’s) side. It depends on the party high command whether it commits the mistake of keeping (Haryana Congress president Udai) Bhan and Hooda at the helm of affairs or brings in changes that benefits the party. If Hooda continues then (Congress MP) Kumari Selja would not let him… and vice versa,” the leader added.
Selja, indicating that Bhan and Hooda should take responsibility for the party’s loss in the state polls, said: “There are definitely lapses in terms of party’s organisational structure. Had it not been there, we would not have been in this place (out of power for third consecutive time). If people are eager to take credit for victory, they should do so for defeats as well.”
When contacted, Hooda said, “Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan campaign of the party shall be taken to each village and district. Discussions were held on this and other points.”
Asked about the announcement of CLP leader and possibilities of replacing the party president, Hooda said, “It is for the party high command to decide. I don’t have information on this.”
Meanwhile, soon after the meeting, Bhan called a meeting of MLAs at the party’s state headquarters in Chandigarh on Thursday.
Senior leader Dr Raghuvir Singh Kadian said, “There were three main agendas in today’s meeting. First, the Samvidhan yatra… how should it be taken to the state and district level; second, how to create and strengthen the party’s organisational structure at the district and state levels, and third, declare the party’s CLP leader because the Budget Session is going to begin in two days and it becomes extremely important for the party to have a leader of Opposition.”
“Who will speak, which calling attention notices have to be submitted, how the adjournment motions have to be moved etc… It is the responsibility of the LoP to manage the floor of the House,” he added.
Asked if Bhan should continue as Haryana Congress president, former Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Sharma said, “It will be a mistake if the party allows him to continue.”
“He (Bhan) is known to take decisions on his own. The party has seen him in this position for all these years, it is for the party high command to see if it wants to let Bhan continue for another five years. Haryana Congress president is an extremely vital position. A man in this position should be such who can take firm decisions and also apprise the party high command of the actual situation on the ground,” he added.
Bhan, considered to be Hooda’s key aide, has been accused of taking lopsided decisions in Hooda camp’s favour.
Former Cabinet minister Capt Ajay Yadav said, “We have suffered immensely in both Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls due to lack of organisational structure. The state party president should be loyal to the party, who can take along all the factions and strengthen the party.”
Asked if the party high command will be throwing its weight behind Hooda, former MLA Shamsher Singh Gogi said, “I don’t think the party will commit suicide.”
On Bhan’s continuation as party president, he said, “The state party president should be changed immediately. It is not in my hands, otherwise he would have been replaced five months earlier (after the October 2024 poll poll results)”.
