As Congress analyses Haryana debacle, state leaders slam Hooda: 'Blame rests with Bapu-beta'

More Congress state unit leaders are raising their voices against former chief minister and senior leader Bhupinder Hooda for the party's dismal performance in the Haryana Assembly elections. 

The Congress held a review meeting on Thursday after which it decided to set up a fact-finding team to study the debacle. The team will speak to all its candidates to find the reason for the party's failure, despite widespread anticipation that it would storm into power.  

Interestingly, Thursday's meeting called by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge did not feature two major state leaders, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja. Though the reports state that they were not invited, just like Hooda, their absence reflects how discontent these leaders were with Hooda's dominance in the campaign and candidate selection process. Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan and CLP leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, or any other senior leaders from the state were also not called for the meeting.

The meeting was attended by party MP Rahul Gandhi, and observers of the party like Ashok Gehlot, Ajay Maken and Pratap Singh Bajwa. AICC in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria joined the meeting online.

On whether the infighting within the party had affected the Congress's prospects, Maken said, "There are various reasons, from the Election Commission to internal differences, we have discussed all that will do so in future as well because such a big upset...we cannot discuss everything in one or one-and-a-half hour."

Meanwhile, more leaders have voiced their protest against Hooda. Former Congres MLA Shamsher Singh Gogi on Thursday attacked the "Hooda Congress" for creating a communication gap in the party which ultimately led to the Congress party's loss.

Gogi, who lost the Assandh seat to BJP leader Yoginder Singh Rana, told reporters that the blame for the defeat rests with "Bapu-beta," indirectly criticising the father-son duo Bhupinder Hooda and Deepender Hooda.

Gogi accused that the state leadership, including Hooda and son, was  not happy with Rahul Gandhi's direct visit to Assandh. He said the polarisation happened towards the end. "(Bhupinder Singh) Hooda didn't even take my name on stage. 'Hooda Congress' was contesting the election and they lost, they didn't take anyone into confidence. They created a communication gap inside the party. Had the election been contested properly, we would have won since the people wanted Congress govt this time. The responsibility (of the defeat) lies with 'Bapu-beta'," Gogi told ANI.

Besides Gogi, many other candidates who lost the polls came out against Hooda and his son for allegedly supporting Congress rebels, who were close to them. They accused that this support cut into the party's official candidates. 

Congress OBC wing chairman Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, whose son Chiranjeev Rao lost from Rewari, said his post had been reduced to little more than a toy. The Rewari seat was a Congress stronghold and Yadav made his displeasure known to the state leadership for South Haryana and OBC leaders not having enough representation in the Congress Working Committee, Congress Election Committee, or the PCC.

“The result is that we got wiped out in the districts of Gurgaon, Mahendragarh, Rewari and Faridabad. If you don’t bring OBCs into the mainstream within the party, it sends the wrong message," The Indian Express quoted Yadav. He added that the party posters did not even have his pictures.