The statement of AICC general secretary and MP Birender Singh saying that he has recommendation Union Minister Kumari Selja’s name as the new Haryana Congress President has created commotion among senior State Congress leaders.
Addressing a party workers meeting on Sunday, Birender Singh, considered a rival of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in State politics, had recommended union minister Selja’s name. "Her appointment would strengthen the party in the State”, the AICC General Secretary said.
Hooda loyalist Phool Chand Mullana became Haryana Congress President in July 2007 after resigning as Education Minister. He resigned from the post in October 2011 owning moral responsibility for the party candidate’s defeat in the Hisar by-election. Since then, he has been working as acting chief of State unit.
According to sources, the two-year-search for a “suitable” candidate for the post has not thrown up any conclusive result so far. Even the names of most top leaders of the State, including Union Minister Selja, former Union Minister of State and MP Rao Inderjit, Rajya Sabha member Ram Prakash, MP Ashok Tanwar, State Ministers Capt Ajay Yadav, Geeta Bhukkal, have been doing the rounds in the past too.
After Birender Singh's statement advocating Selja as the PCC chief, the Hooda loyalists are looking to strike back. They want a candidate recommended by the Chief Minister as the PCC chief to have better coordination between the party and the Government in the State.
By recommending the name of Selja for State chief, Singh has tried to remove the loyalist of Hooda from the post. He also wanted to adjust one of the disgruntled leader on a key post, so that in ticket distribution exercise for the lok Sabha polls and later for the Assembly elections in 2014, Hooda does not have a complete say.
Birender Singh suggested that Union Minister Selja is not only women but also from the SC category, hence it will give more strength to the State Congress in coming elections.
Asked about the issue, Rao Inderjit Singh MP from Gurgaon and another disgruntled leader, refused to comment. Hooda loyalist Geeta Bhukkal, who is also Education Minister, too steered clear of the issue and refused to react.