As Haryana gears up for the assembly elections, Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday dismissed all claims of forming an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state, stating that Congress is capable of contesting the elections on its own.
Regarding an alliance with AAP, Hooda said, “We have an alliance with the Samajwadi Party too, but it is a central-level alliance, not state-based. We have no alliance here in Haryana. We have an alliance with all parties at the national level, but there are no such discussions at the state level. Congress is fully capable of contesting the elections alone.”
Hooda further remarked that in the upcoming elections, the primary competition is between Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leaving no space for ‘vote cutters’.
Commenting on the INLD-BSP alliance for the forthcoming elections, Hooda stated, “The Lok Sabha results have clearly shown that the competition is between Congress and the BJP, with no room for vote cutters.”
Hooda also clarified that he is not retired and will contest the upcoming elections in the state.
Addressing the issue of the Chief Ministerial candidate for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections and his statement, “Neither tired nor retired,” Hooda reiterated, “There is no such thing as tired or retired. I had said that I would contest the election this time. I am neither tired nor retired.”
Referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, Hooda pointed out that there has been a decrease in the BJP’s vote percentage and an increase in Congress’s vote share, indicating that people are inclined to form a Congress government in the state.
On the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, Hooda said, “In the Lok Sabha elections, people have given clear indications that the 36 fraternities of Haryana have decided that the next government will be formed by the Congress party. We received the highest vote share of the INDIA Alliance across India. There are 10 parliamentary constituencies here, and all 10 of them registered a drop in the BJP’s vote share while Congress saw a rise. Similarly, across the 90 Assembly constituencies, Congress’s vote share has increased, while the BJP’s has declined. This is a clear indication. Based on the public support we are receiving through our various campaigns, whether it’s ‘Hisaab Maange Haryana’ or ‘Ghar-Ghar Congress,’ I can confidently say that the people have made up their minds to form a Congress government.”
On the topic of potential factionalism within the party, Hooda dismissed such concerns, saying, “There is no factionalism in the party. All party leaders are united and working to strengthen Congress. If you want to see factionalism, look at the BJP; you might notice it among leaders like Anil Vij, Ram Vilas Sharma, or Rao Inderjit Singh.”
The elections for Haryana’s 90 assembly constituencies will be held in a single phase on October 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for October 4.
Haryana has a total of 2.01 crore voters, of which 1.06 crore are males, 0.95 crore are females, 4.52 lakh are first-time voters, and 40.95 lakh are young voters.
The last date to file nominations in Haryana is September 12, with scrutiny taking place on September 13. The final date for the withdrawal of candidatures is September 16.
The current government’s term in Haryana will end on November 3, 2024, with elections to be held in all 90 legislative assembly constituencies.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP, with 40 seats in the 90-member assembly, formed a coalition government with the JJP, which had won 10 seats, while the Congress had secured 31 seats. Earlier this year, the BJP-JJP alliance was dissolved.
In 2024, Haryana is likely to witness a four-way contest between the BJP, Congress, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and AAP.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
