When the Congress organised a kisan rally in April at Delhi’s Ramlila Grounds to protest against the National Democratic Alliance government’s decision to dilute the 2013 land acquisition bill, it became an occasion for the warring factions of Haryana Congress to display their differences in public. Those schisms are about to be exposed again this week.
With the Congress planning a second such rally at the same venue on September 20 to congratulate farmers for having successfully forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the land ordinance, the infighting in the party’s Haryana unit is expected to resurface. Nothing has been done over the past five months to put an end to the bitter divide between the rival groups. In fact, the divisions have only become sharper.
Since Haryana is close to Delhi, the state party unit is expected to mobilise the maximum number of participants for any rally organised by the Congress in the capital. As a result, state leaders use these events to display their strength and impress the leadership while putting down their rivals in the party.
This is exactly what happened at the April rally. Not only did former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda transport a large number of farmers, but he also made sure that his supporters sported pink turbans for easy identification.
Embarrassing episode
His rival Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar’s supporters, who had been asked to wear Gandhi caps, were hopelessly outnumbered by Hooda’s followers. Not just that, Hooda’s men kept up an incessant chant in his praise through the proceedings and shouted down Tanwar when he was invited to address the gathering. The two leaders had even held separate meetings to oversee the arrangements for the rally. The Congress leadership did take a dim view of this embarrassing episode then but chose to overlook it.
With Haryana Congress again at the forefront for mobilising farmers for the rally, a repeat of the last incident is not being ruled out. Having been stripped of all positions in the state unit after the party’s disastrous performance in the last Lok Sabha and assembly elections, Hooda is determined not to cede space to his rivals. Hooda has been at war with the new state unit president Tanwar and Congress legislature party leader Kiran Choudhry ever since they were entrusted with their new responsibilities, especially because his supporters were not considered for these key positions.
While tensions between the two groups have been simmering, the battle has further intensified after Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently reconstituted the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee after a gap of nine years.
The jumbo 259-member committee is dominated by Tanwar and Chaudhry’s supporters while Hooda’s camp followers are in a minuscule minority even though the former chief minister maintains he has a big following among the state legislators and party workers.
A furious Hooda has registered a strong protest with the party leadership while his supporters have decided that they will not attend any meeting of the new committee until those leaders who worked against the party in the last assembly elections were removed. A meeting of the new panel, slated for September 2, had to be hurriedly called off following this open revolt.
Tensions in state units
“The composition of the new Haryana committee is a mystery,” remarked a Haryana Congress leader. “Sarpanch-level persons and personal staff members of Hooda’s rivals have found a place in it while senior and experienced workers have been ignored.”
A Hooda supporter maintained it was ironical that on one hand, there were clear efforts to undermine the former chief minister, and on the other hand, the party leadership has turned to him to mobilise the crowds for the September 20 rally. Recognising that he can be depended upon to deliver the crowds, Hooda has also been appointed co-chair of the AK Antony-headed committee overseeing the arrangements for the rally.
The Congress wants an impressive turnout as it wants to use this occasion to send out a message to the electorate in poll-bound Bihar about how it fought and succeeded in protecting the interest of farmers.
While the infighting in Haryana Congress is raging, the party leadership is still grappling with the internal battle in its Punjab unit where former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his supporters are demanding the removal of the pradesh committee president Pratap Singh Bajwa. A series of meetings were recently held to resolve this crisis and, at one stage, it appeared an announcement would be made in a few days.
However, Amarinder Singh’s camp is not happy with the leadership’s proposal to appoint the former chief minister as the head of the campaign committee and Congress general secretary Ambika Soni as Punjab Congress chief. The rebels are insisting that this key post be given to Amarinder Singh or his nominee. Unable to find an amicable solution, party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi are still weighing various options.
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With the Congress planning a second such rally at the same venue on September 20 to congratulate farmers for having successfully forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the land ordinance, the infighting in the party’s Haryana unit is expected to resurface. Nothing has been done over the past five months to put an end to the bitter divide between the rival groups. In fact, the divisions have only become sharper.
Since Haryana is close to Delhi, the state party unit is expected to mobilise the maximum number of participants for any rally organised by the Congress in the capital. As a result, state leaders use these events to display their strength and impress the leadership while putting down their rivals in the party.
This is exactly what happened at the April rally. Not only did former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda transport a large number of farmers, but he also made sure that his supporters sported pink turbans for easy identification.
Embarrassing episode
His rival Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar’s supporters, who had been asked to wear Gandhi caps, were hopelessly outnumbered by Hooda’s followers. Not just that, Hooda’s men kept up an incessant chant in his praise through the proceedings and shouted down Tanwar when he was invited to address the gathering. The two leaders had even held separate meetings to oversee the arrangements for the rally. The Congress leadership did take a dim view of this embarrassing episode then but chose to overlook it.
With Haryana Congress again at the forefront for mobilising farmers for the rally, a repeat of the last incident is not being ruled out. Having been stripped of all positions in the state unit after the party’s disastrous performance in the last Lok Sabha and assembly elections, Hooda is determined not to cede space to his rivals. Hooda has been at war with the new state unit president Tanwar and Congress legislature party leader Kiran Choudhry ever since they were entrusted with their new responsibilities, especially because his supporters were not considered for these key positions.
While tensions between the two groups have been simmering, the battle has further intensified after Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently reconstituted the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee after a gap of nine years.
The jumbo 259-member committee is dominated by Tanwar and Chaudhry’s supporters while Hooda’s camp followers are in a minuscule minority even though the former chief minister maintains he has a big following among the state legislators and party workers.
A furious Hooda has registered a strong protest with the party leadership while his supporters have decided that they will not attend any meeting of the new committee until those leaders who worked against the party in the last assembly elections were removed. A meeting of the new panel, slated for September 2, had to be hurriedly called off following this open revolt.
Tensions in state units
“The composition of the new Haryana committee is a mystery,” remarked a Haryana Congress leader. “Sarpanch-level persons and personal staff members of Hooda’s rivals have found a place in it while senior and experienced workers have been ignored.”
A Hooda supporter maintained it was ironical that on one hand, there were clear efforts to undermine the former chief minister, and on the other hand, the party leadership has turned to him to mobilise the crowds for the September 20 rally. Recognising that he can be depended upon to deliver the crowds, Hooda has also been appointed co-chair of the AK Antony-headed committee overseeing the arrangements for the rally.
The Congress wants an impressive turnout as it wants to use this occasion to send out a message to the electorate in poll-bound Bihar about how it fought and succeeded in protecting the interest of farmers.
While the infighting in Haryana Congress is raging, the party leadership is still grappling with the internal battle in its Punjab unit where former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his supporters are demanding the removal of the pradesh committee president Pratap Singh Bajwa. A series of meetings were recently held to resolve this crisis and, at one stage, it appeared an announcement would be made in a few days.
However, Amarinder Singh’s camp is not happy with the leadership’s proposal to appoint the former chief minister as the head of the campaign committee and Congress general secretary Ambika Soni as Punjab Congress chief. The rebels are insisting that this key post be given to Amarinder Singh or his nominee. Unable to find an amicable solution, party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi are still weighing various options.