With most exit polls predicting a clear majority for the Congress in Haryana, former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda arrived in Delhi on Sunday and is expected to meet the party’s top leadership on Monday. Hooda will stay night at his Delhi residence. He is likely to meet the party's senior leadership before he returns to his Rohtak residence Monday afternoon, sources said. In context: Asked who would be the chief minister if the Congress comes to power, Hooda had Saturday reiterated that there is a laid down procedure in the party, according to which "the opinion of the MLAs will be sought and the high command will decide". About party leaders Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala also reportedly being aspirants for the chief minister's post, Hooda told reporters that one can have aspirations in politics but there is a procedure. Selja, considered as Hooda's bete noire, had met the party's leadership in Delhi on Thursday, the last day of campaigning for the Haryana Assembly election. The meeting had happened amid reports that she was "upset" over the party's affairs in Haryana. Reportedly sulking over ticket distribution where Hooda’s loyalist “were preferred”, Selja had also stayed away from the party's poll campaign in the state for a few days. Recommended Reading: Eyeing power in Haryana, Congress faces a problem of plenty as CM aspirants swell Delhi HC likely to hear Umar Khalid bail plea The Delhi High Court on Monday is likely to hear the bail plea of former JNU student Umar Khalid in a UAPA case over the alleged conspiracy of the 2020 Delhi riots. Last week, a Bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait also listed for hearing the pending bail applications of student activist Sharjeel Imam, “United Against Hate” founder Khalid Saifi, and other co-accused in the case. Khalid, who was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2020, has assailed a trial court order refusing to grant him bail in the case. The violence had erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). On May 28, the trial court had rejected Umar Khalid's plea seeking regular bail for a second time, saying its previous order dismissing his first bail application had attained finality. Police claimed the protests were part of a conspiracy to cause violence to coincide with the visit of then US President Donald Trump, and Imam, in his public addresses, propagated the idea of chakka jam as the plan of action to paralyse the government. BJP to commemorate 23 yrs of Modi’s public life To celebrate and highlight the continued development journey that began on October 7, 2001, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the oath as the 14th Chief Minister of Gujarat, a Vikas Saptah will be celebrated every year throughout the state from October 7 to October 15, 2024, a press release from the party said. "On October 7, 2001, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the oath as the 14th Chief Minister of Gujarat, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the politics of development. As of Monday, October 7, 2024, the continued development journey that began on this date has reached 23 years. To celebrate and highlight this multifaceted development journey and the success of good governance under Narendra Modi, a Vikas Saptah will be celebrated every year throughout the state from October 7 to October 15, 2024," the release said. – With PTI inputs
