HJC merges with Cong, Bishnoi-Hooda tension palpable

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 28

As the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) merged with the Congress today, ending nine years of divorce, tensions between the state leadership of both parties were evident.

First, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda skipped the morning event held at party president Sonia Gandhi’s house to mark the merger.

Present in that event were Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, secretary for Haryana Asha Kumari and general secretary in-charge Haryana affairs Shakeel Ahmad, besides Haryana Congress leaders Ashok Tanwar (party unit chief), Kiran Choudhry (CLP leader), Kumari Selja (Rajya Sabha member) and Randeep Surjewala (Congress media head and Kaithal MLA).

The top HJC leadership, including party president Kuldeep Bishnoi and his wife Renuka (MLA), were in attendance.

Later in the evening, Hooda arrived in Parliament for the customary press conference about the merger, only to leave the event midway.

Before leaving, he taunted Bishnoi. “Kuldeep has seen many doors and has returned home. This shows the Congress is gaining strength. People are tilting towards it because the BJP has failed on every front of governance. People from the INLD meet us daily and wish to join the Congress. It’s good that the strength of the Congress is rising.”

The task of making Bishnoi feel welcomed in the party was left to Ahmad who recalled the legacy of Bishnoi’s father and Hooda’s arch-rival, late Bhajan Lal. He said, “Bhajan Lalji was a tall leader in Haryana. We welcome the HJC leadership which has decided to merge with the Congress. This is a sign of increasing attraction for the party. Many from the BJP and INLD want to join us as well.”

Bishnoi, present with his wife and senior HJC leaders Dharam Pal and Ramji Lal (Hooda duly acknowledged both), was at a loss for words when asked to comment on his decision to reunite with the Congress.

“We rejoined the Congress because we understand the need to stop the march of communal forces in the state,” said Bishnoi, whose father Bhajan Lal had split from the Congress when it projected Hooda as the Chief Minister in 2005.

“I have moved on. Let bygones be bygones,” he insisted when asked if he was happy to reverse his father’s decision.

Politically speaking, the Congress gains two more MLAs in the Assembly post merger, while the HJC gains a much-needed platform, considering it has just two MLAs — Bishnoi and his wife.

“Now, we have 17 legislators in the Assembly. We will counter the BJP more aggressively,” Kiran said after Tanwar had hailed the merger.

It remains to be seen how the state’s Jat leadership led by Hooda takes the emergence of a non-Jat Bishnoi in the Congress, considering little discussion preceded the merger which Rahul himself crystallised.

“It’s too early to predict the benefits of this merger. Let’s wait and see,” a leader said.

As for why Hooda left the press conference midway, the party said he had to travel out. But it’s learnt Ahmad had to “work hard” to get Hooda to appear alongside Bishnoi after he had skipped the morning event at Sonia’s house.

HJC rally on Oct 6 

Haryana Janhit Congress chief Kuldeep Bishnoi on Thursday announced a rally on October 6 at Adampur to mark his father late Bhajan Lal's birth anniversary. “Rahul Gandhi will be the chief guest at the rally,” he said.