The Congress on Thursday received a shot in the arm with a major State party from Haryana, the Kuldeep Bishnoi-headed Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), merging with it in the presence of top leaders including chief Sonia Gandhi.
HJC was floated by Bishnoi’s father and former Chief Minister Bhajan lal in 2007 after being sidelined by the party which preferred Jat leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the Chief Minister in 2005. Hooda was conspicuous by his absence during the merger which also saw presence of Congress VP Rahul Gandhi.
“I had never separated from Congress. Differences occur in a family. Congress is in our blood. The differences are now over,” Bishnoi, who took over the reins of the party after Bhajan lal’s death on June 3, 2011, said following announcement of the merger at 10 Janpath.
HJC had forged an alliance with the BJP for the 2014 parliamentary elections. In the last Assembly polls, the party fought separately and was reduced to just two seats — Kuldeep Bishnoi won from his father’s traditional Adampur seat of Hisar while his wife Renuka Bishnoi won from Hansi.
“Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are our only leaders. We will work for strengthening the Congress. I will work as an ordinary worker of the party and I have not put any conditions or come back due to greed of any post,” Bishnoi said. The merger is expected to give a boost to the Congress among non-Jats. Bishnoi, however, asserted that he will work for all people of Haryana, including the Jats and non-Jats.
AICC general secretary in-charge for the state Shakeel Ahmad played down the absence of Hooda, saying that he was also in favour of the merger. Ahmad said Bishnoi will be given responsibility in the party and he will emerge as a “strong leader” of Congress.
Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar welcomed Bishnoi and leaders of Haryana Janhit Congress, saying it indicated the “rising graph” of the party.