Murmurs of discontent over new appointments in Haryana Congress

Chandigarh, Oct 1 (PTI) Murmurs of discontent have emerged among Congress leaders in Haryana over the recent appointments made by the party's central leadership, including that of Bhupinder Singh Hooda as legislature party leader and Rao Narender Singh as the president of the state unit.

Earlier on Monday, shortly after Congress announced the appointment of Narender, senior leader Capt Ajay Singh Yadav had hit out, saying the party needs to introspect on its "falling graph" in the state.

"Rahul Gandhi Ji wanted Haryana Congress President who should have a clean, spotless image and is a youth, but the decision is reverse @RahulGandhi @HariprasadBK2 the party cadre morale is at its lowest level," Yadav had said in a post on X Monday evening.

Another senior leader, Prof Sampat Singh, took a veiled dig on Wednesday over former chief minister Hooda's appointment as the CLP, saying "if the party had decided to appoint the same person, then what was the need to wait for one year".

Without taking Hooda's name directly, he said the party had handpicked a person (and made him the CM) when Congress had won 67 of the 90 seats under late Bhajan Lal's leadership in 2005.

"After this, over the years, leaders from prominent political families, including Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal, were sidelined (in the Congress). (Prominent leaders like Kuldeep Bishnoi and Kiran Choudhry, who were earlier with Congress, are with the BJP at present). Many other leaders in the Haryana Congress were sidelined," Samapat Singh claimed.

Notably, Sampat Singh had been denied a ticket from the Nalwa assembly constituency in two successive elections by the Congress.

Earlier on October 18, 2024, the Haryana Congress Legislature Party (CLP), which had held its first meeting here after the assembly poll results were announced on October 8, 2024, had passed a resolution authorising the party high command to appoint its next leader in the house.

On Monday, Hooda was made the CLP leader and Rao Narender Singh replaced Udai Bhan, who was appointed president of the state unit in April 2022.

Sampat Singh had switched over from the Indian National Lok Dal, where he spent most of his political career, to the Congress many years ago.

On Wednesday, Sampat Singh made a cryptic post on X, and when asked whom he was referring to, he said, "By reading it, everyone will know whom I am referring to".

In the post in Hindi, Sampat Singh wrote, "Under the leadership of the late Chaudhary Bhajan Lal Ji, after winning 67 seats in 2005, the party has once again handed over reins to someone who has consistently caused harm to it," Singh, a six-time ex-MLA, said in the post.

"Is this the change after a year of deliberation? Why are the youth not being brought forward?" he asked.

"...Compensating for this loss is not just difficult but impossible. This decision has left the party's loyal workers disheartened and created a state of distrust among the public," Sampat Singh said.

Meanwhile, another senior Congress leader and former Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Sharma, when asked about the decision of the Congress leadership, said, "Only time will tell...It has to withstand the test of time".

Earlier on September 25, to mark the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister late Devi Lal, Sampat Singh had attended the "Samman Rally" in Rohtak organised by the INLD.

Without taking any names, Sampat Singh dissuaded them from attending the Rohtak rally, but he was completely determined to participate, he had said.

Sampat Singh had also praised the successful rally organised by INLD chief Abhay Singh Chautala on Chaudhary Devi Lal's birth anniversary and said that when the people of Rohtak began to support Abhay, some people began to feel uneasy.

The Congress named former Haryana minister Singh as the next state unit chief, picking up the OBC leader from the Ahirwal belt.

The party had also appointed 78-year-old former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the CLP leader in the state, with the appointments coming nearly a year after the party failed to wrest power from the BJP.

In polls conducted on October 5, 2024, the BJP secured an unprecedented third term in the state, winning 48 seats in the 90-member Assembly. The Congress won 37 seats. PTI SUN VSD RT RT