Bhupinder Singh Hooda interview: ‘In loktantra (democracy), log haar gaye, tantra jeet gaya’

"How could the ticket distribution be lopsided? There is a proper procedure that the Congress party follows," says Haryana Congress leader who is facing questions about his role in the party's defeat.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Bhupinder Singh Hooda interview, Haryana Assembly Elections 2024, Haryana Assembly polls, Congress, BJP, Indian express news, current affairs

Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda

4 min readChandigarhOct 10, 2024 03:59 PM IST First published on: Oct 10, 2024 at 07:45 AM IST

Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda Wednesday denied influencing the ticket distribution for the Assembly polls, the results of which, he accepted, has come as a rude shock. The BJP stormed to power for a third consecutive term in Haryana Tuesday winning 48 of the 90 assembly seats, defying the the exit polls that had predicted a Congress landslide. Hooda, a former chief minister who spearheaded the party’s campaign first in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls and subsequently in the Assembly elections, speaks to The Indian Express on the allegations that factionalism cost the party, and why it feels that all was not right with EVMs.

Excerpts:

After winning five Lok Sabha seats in June, how do you see the Vidhan Sabha poll results?

It is absolutely bizarre. We remained on the ground throughout all these five years. There was immense anger against this non-performing government and the BJP. People from all the communities, in each and every nook and corner of the state, were eagerly waiting for October 5 (polling date) to exercise their franchise and throw this government out. Congress was all set to form the government. I had been saying this not due to any over-confidence but only due to the feedback that we were getting from the ground. All the surveys, our own internal surveys, the trends, media, people’s voices – how could everybody go wrong? All I can say is that it is a prajatantra, a loktantra jisme log haar gaye, tantra jeet gaya (In a democracy, people lost and the system won).

Kumari Selja has alleged lopsided ticket distribution at your behest. Do you agree with that?

How could the ticket distribution be lopsided? There is a proper procedure that the Congress party follows. Applications were invited and we got the maximum number of ticket aspirants. The scrutiny committee scanned the applications. Winnable candidates were shortlisted and then after getting scrutinised at multiple levels, the party high command took the final decision and the candidates were declared. How could it be lopsided at my behest?

Do you think Kumari Selja’s absence from campaign or BJP’s attack on your differences with her cost you?

This is all absurd. Where was Rambilas Sharma (BJP’s former minister who was not fielded this time in Mahendragarh), where did (BJP’s former minister) Anil Vij campaign, where was (Union Minister) Rao Inderjit Singh? The BJP doesn’t talk about its own factionalism. There is nothing like that (in the Congress). Our campaign was strong and all the party leaders and workers did their best.

Do you agree that Congress, or you, relied more on Jat voters and BJP managed to consolidate non-Jat vote bank?

Such an analysis or comparison between Congress and BJP has no base. We got the support of all the 36-biraadaris. People from all communities, castes and religions voted for the Congress party. Otherwise, how could we have got 39 per cent vote share. [BJP won 48 seats and got a vote share of 39.94 per cent, while Congress got 37 seats and a vote share of 39.09 per cent]. People should look at the difference in vote share. It is a few decimal points.

What transpired during your meeting with the Election Commission?

It is extremely glaring. You need to look at it step-wise. In Lok Sabha polls, Congress party’s vote share increased by over 16 per cent, while BJP’s decreased by 12 per cent. Both Congress and BJP got five Lok Sabha seats, each. All the surveys, including our internal surveys, showed a comfortable victory of the Congress with an absolute majority. The polling took place on October 5 and on that day too, all the exit polls showed Congress far ahead of the BJP. On October 8, the counting of votes began with postal ballots and Congress was comfortably far ahead of the BJP. But, as soon as the EVMs opened, Congress began sliding. How could that be possible? We received multiple complaints, at least 20 of our candidates have lodged complaints of EVM malfunction or snags in the EVMs. How could there be 99% battery in the EVM that is into the counting process? We have lodged our concerns with the Election Commission who have assured us that they would look into it.