Congress names Hooda as CLP leader after yearlong delay, Rao Narender Singh to head Haryana unit

New Delhi, Sep 29 (PTI) The Congress central leadership on Monday yielded to internal pressure, naming former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the CLP leader in Haryana -- a year after assembly polls -- and appointed Rao Narender Singh as the new state unit president.

Rao Narender Singh, an OBC face and former state health minister from Narnaul, replaced Udai Bhan, who had held the post since April 2022.

According to sources, he is the choice of former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who was keen on projecting an OBC face in the state.

There were three names proposed for the post -- all belonging to the other backward class (OBC), they added.

The appointments were made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, an official statement said.

"Congress president has appointed Shri Rao Narender Singh as the President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect," AICC general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal said.

"Congress president has also approved the proposal for the appointment of Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Haryana, with immediate effect," he said.

"The party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing PCC President Shri Udai Bhan," Venugopal added.

Hooda has been made the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader nearly a year after the assembly elections held late last year in which the Congress failed to dethrone the BJP in the state.

Hooda was the chief minister of Haryana from 2004 to 2014. The BJP has been in power in the state since.

The appointment of Hooda assumes significance as the party seems to have finally succumbed to the internal pressures of state MLAs. The Congress had not announced its CLP leader since last year.

Most Congress MLAs owed allegiance to Hooda and wanted him to be appointed the CLP leader after the party failed to dislodge the BJP from power last year.

However, the party did not appoint Hooda or anyone else to the post that was lying vacant. With this, Hooda has once again emerged as the party's undisputed leader in the state. PTI SKC RHL