Daggers out in Haryana Congress, infighting adds to Kamal Nath's woes

In his Facebook post, Yadav said: "I got nothing but insult, pain, ill health and mental torture after having served the party throughout my youth and life. This came from leaders who corrupted the government machinery and were a part of the gang that robbed the government exchequer."

He said he had apprised party president Sonia Gandhi of the state of affairs in the state.

"I believe that the people surrounding her are misleading and blackmailing her," he said, while attacking former CM and Congress heavyweight Bhupinder Singh Hooda for withdrawing the promotion given to him by Sonia Gandhi.

The trigger for Yadav announcing his resignation this time is reportedly not being invited by Kamal Nath to a meeting convened a few days back in Delhi, in a bid to end the internal bickering in the party.

CLP leader praises BJP CM Khattar

This episode apart, party unity has been severely affected over the last few weeks by a statement reportedly given by Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Kiran Chaudhary. She praised the Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar of the BJP, as an 'honest' leader.

There have been repeated attacks on her from members of Hooda faction, who have gone to the extent of calling for her removal, while saying that her statement is demoralising for the Congress workers.

Former Congress state unit chief Phul Chand Mulana and former minister Nirmal Singh took on Chaudhary for praising a political adversary, who is 'functioning with political vendetta' while trying to tarnish the image of both the Gandhi family and also the top leadership in the state.

They said Khattar can never be called an honest man, as this was proved in the recent Rajya Sabha polls, where Congressmen's votes were declared invalid. "Giving a clean chit to a Chief Minister bent on fixing our leaders is beyond our political wisdom," they said.

On the other hand, the present Haryana unit chief Ashok Tanwar and his supporters have come out in defence of Chaudhary, saying that her statements are being misinterpreted and misrepresented. He has cautioned the party leaders against making statements against her.

The matter has given fodder to the BJP for taking jibes at the Congress. State minister Nayab Saini reportedly said that Chaudhary was welcome to join the BJP. He said the Congress should not put a ban on speaking the truth, and that there was a leadership crisis in the party's state unit.

Kamal Nath has reportedly told both the camps at the recent meeting to stop the ongoing media war on the issue.

Can the opponents topple Hooda?

The fact remains that the Haryana Congress is a divided house. As a senior political observer recently pointed out: "Even at public programmes, one can distinguish between the members of these factions by the different colours of turbans that they wear."

In the state Assembly, Hooda continues to enjoy the support of a majority of the 17 party MLAs, and a large number of senior party leaders across the state. However, his absolute dominance over party affairs is being challenged by by the rival camp led by Tanwar and Chaudhary. The latter have also made some inroads into Hooda's strongholds.

Veteran political observer Balwant Takshak added: "While Tanwar is not a mass leader, Chaudhary does not have the support of the MLAs despite her having been appointed as the CLP chief. So you can very well imagine the state of affairs in the party.

"There is a lot of effort going on to weaken Hooda, as the rivals know that they cannot have their way, no matter what designation they hold, till Hooda remains strong. Incidentally, Hooda enjoys a good rapport with Kamal Nath, and the latter's appointment as party in-charge works in his favour.

Hooda also has problems outside the Congress - he has been claiming that the Khattar government has been targeting him out of vendetta by getting several cases registered against him.

But when it comes to the politics over Jat supremacy, one of the top factors deciding the course of Haryana's polity, Hooda remains the mot powerful Jat face in the Congress, who can match up to the hold of the rival Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in the Jat heartland in the state.

Takshak does not see any change in the Haryana state unit in the near future. "I think the changes will be made only when the elections are approaching. It is then that the leaders matter over the distribution of tickets."

Till then, will the Haryana Congress continue to stage this a pot boiler?

Edited by Shreyas Sharma

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