After being spurned by the BJP, Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) president Kuldeep Bishnoi is now hobnobbing with the ruling Congress for the State Assembly elections which are due in October.
According to sources, HJC’s new ally Haryana Jan Chetna Party chief Venod Sharma, former Congress Minister and close friend of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, is mediating for possible proximity between Hooda and Bishnoi.
The Ruling Congress is in back foot, especially after facing a humiliating defeat in the lok Sabha polls. Besides, it is struggling to check exodus of party leaders and facing inner-party rift among leaders on leadership issue. It has already lost around half a dozen stalwarts who have joined the saffron party in recent months.
Speculation was rife about the meeting between Hooda and Bishnoi to chalk out a strategy before the Assembly Elections. Though, Bishnoi on Wednesday, ruled out any such meeting with Hooda.
“Why will I meet Hooda SahibIJ what is the necessity for me for such a meeting….Neither did I meet Hooda nor I will meet him”, said Bishnoi.
He said, “I am not afraid of anyone, rather I am a person who always speaks truth and would tell the truth if I meet him”.
But Hooda neither confirmed nor denied the reports of his meeting Bishnoi. “How does my meeting anyone concern youIJ why would I share my meeting details with anyoneIJ”, Hooda asked reporters, when queried about such a meeting.
The Congress leaders say that there is no problem if Bishnoi shakes hand with the party as he is virtually a Congressman and his father late Chaudhary Bhajan lal was the tallest leader of the Congress during his his days.
Bishnoi’s elder brother Chander Mohan was Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana in Congress Government led by Hooda in 2005. Many in Congress said for Bishnoi, congress is like his parent party.
According to political experts, the pre-poll pact between HJC and Congress may not take place but they can have understanding with each other on fielding candidates and later a post-poll arithmetic.
For any pre-poll alliance, it will be the Congress high command which will take a call and Hooda has only a limited role in this. Bishnoi had rejected the proposal of his former ally BJP for 15 Assembly seats and had stuck with a demand of 35 seats, leading to the breakdown of the alliance.
In the 2009 Assembly polls, HJC won six seats in a hung Assembly. However, five of the MlAs left the party and merged themselves with the Congress. Bishnoi had filed an appeal with the Speaker on defection and fight bitterly with Hooda throughout. But due to the changed political situation in the State with BJP emerging as a force to reckon with, there could be a change in his political approach for the assembly polls.