Why Haryana Slipped Out Of Congress’s Hand: Decoding The Hooda, Kumari Selja & Dalit Factors

Reported By: Pallavi Ghosh

(From left) Kumari Selja, Rahul Gandhi and Bhupinder Singh Hooda at a rally in Haryana. (PTI File)

The dominance of the Hoodas in campaigns and ticket distribution only showed the split in the party was another reason why the Congress lost

The bonhomie and celebrations at the Congress headquarters early Tuesday morning slowly faded as reality dawned — the party had lost an election in Haryana, which they had almost won.

While the party grapples with an explanation, let us try to dissect what went wrong for the Congress.

First, the Jat versus non-Jat politics did not click in favour of the Congress. Giving Bhupinder Hooda the lion’s share in ticket distribution meant the Congress clearly made its fight Jat-friendly. But it ended up hurting non-Jats such as Scheduled Caste (SC), Brahmins, Dalits, Punjabis and others.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) countered it by making Nayab Singh Saini the CM, which sent a message that unlike the Congress, which was projecting Jats, it actually cared for the backwards and Dalits.

Add to this the Kumari Selja factor. She clearly has had the revenge. Dalits account for 20% of the state’s population. And that’s why Selja mattered. But her sulk, not campaigning till almost the fag end and her comments that she cannot be ignored harmed the party’s Dalit vote bank.

With this, Rahul Gandhi’s caste census pitch and championing his party as a Dalit messiah did not quite click. Some felt if he really cared for Dalits, why was Selja kept out?

Moreover, getting Ashok Tanwar in just a day before polling, ended up antagonising Selja supporters as they felt that the top leadership was sending a message to her that there were alternatives to her as a Dalit leader.

The dominance of the Hoodas in campaigns and ticket distribution only showed the split in the party was another reason why the Congress lost. The party could not convince the voters that theirs could be a united government.

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The results have put the Congress in a fix. While with Hoodas it believed that the regional satraps could win elections for them, it also now makes the party feel that perhaps what is more important is that everyone should be seen equally. Also, maybe, it is time to look for new faces.

Satraps may not be the answer. A chakravyuh the party is caught in.