At a time when the Congress’ campaign for October 5 assembly polls in Haryana gathered momentum, the absence of its prominent Dalit face and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja has exposed the internal rift in the party. Selja, has been “conspicuously absent” from the party’s campaign for over a week. Her silence after nominations ended has caught the eye of the Opposition parties with BJP’s outgoing Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday accusing the Congress of being “anti-Dalit” for hesitating to declare her as the chief ministerial face.

Saini, talking to reporters, said: “The Congress is anti-Dalit and does not respect Dalits. If any Dalit leader wants to move forward, the Congress crushes that leader. Kumari Selja is a big leader…if she wants to become the Chief Minister, what crime did she commit?”

His assertion comes a day after Saini’s predecessor Manohar Lal Khattar, now a Union Minister, invited her to join the BJP. “Our Dalit sister is sitting at home. A large section of people are today thinking about what they should do. Many people were upset with them and we brought them into the party fold. We are ready with an offer and if she comes, we are ready to induct her,” Khattar was quoted as saying.

Moreover, dismissing such reports as “speculations”, the Congress candidate from Uchana Kalan assembly constituency, Brijendra Singh, said that the BJP is “facing frustration” in the state ahead of elections. “Kumari Selja is one of the very senior leaders, there is no point in saying such things about her. She will contribute fully to Congress in this election. BJP is a shop of lies,” he said.

Congress sources said that Selja was upset over the denial of tickets to leaders owing allegiance to her camp, and now chose to stay away from the electioneering. However, there is no official statement either by the Congress central leadership or senior-most leader and two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, who is in the race for the post of the Chief Minister, about the reason for Kumari Selja’s absence just ahead of polling despite being active on the ground before the candidature on all seats were cleared.

In the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, Kumari Selja defeated BJP’s Ashok Tanwar, Haryana Congress’ former president, by 2,68,497 votes from Sirsa (reserve) seat.

Furthermore, the former Home Minister and BJP leader Anil Vij, who is in the fray from his stronghold Ambala Cantonment, said: “There is no respect for women in the Congress, and there is no respect for Dalits also. If someone can use casteist words about such a prominent leader (Kumari Selja), then what must the situation in Congress be? Everyone should be aware of this.”

Talking to reporters, Vij, the six-time legislator who last week demanded that he be made the Chief Minister of Haryana if his party wins the elections, said: “If Manohar Lal ji is saying something about the possibility of Kumari Selja joining the BJP, then there must be something in this regard.”

All political parties are aiming to woo the Dalits, who constitute nearly 21 per cent of the state’s population, with both prominent parties, the BJP and the Congress, having Dalits as state party chiefs. Out of 90 Assembly seats, 17 are reserved for the Dalits.

Azad Samaj Party leader and parliamentarian Chandra Shekhar Azad too condemned the abusive comment made on Kumari Selja and called upon the people to be cautious of the Congress. “The party which cannot give respect to a senior leader of our society, how will that Congress care for the common people of our society?” he said.

He added, “Kumari Selja has been strengthening the Congress for a long time but today she is being forced to sit at home due to repeated insults.” The Azad Samaj Party is contesting the elections in alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).