After 4 consecutive defeats, Congress weighing best option for Hisar

Tribune News Service

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, April 13

Waiting for an electoral victory for the past two decades, the Congress leadership remained undecided over the selection of candidate for the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency after the meeting of its Central Election Committee in Delhi today.

Ticket aspirants have been lobbying in Delhi for the past several days. Hisar is considered a hot seat in Haryana. The Congress had lost four consecutive contests in this Lok Sabha segment and its candidates had forfeited deposits in all elections after 2004.

“The party leadership is weighing the best possible option for Hisar. Though there are some names that have been shortlisted by the screening committee and the election committee of the party, a final decision is likely to be taken by the high command,” said a source.

“The leadership has taken various factors, including the previous performances, caste calculation and feedback from the ground before finalising the candidate. Though it is considered a segment where a candidate belonging to the Jat community is preferred, the factor of the candidate fielded by the BJP and probable nominees of the INLD and the JJP is also being taken into account,” said the source.

The names of the former BJP MP from Hisar, Brijendra Singh, who recently joined the Congress, former Union minister Jai Prakash (both belonging to Jat community), former Deputy CM Chander Mohan (belonging to Bishnoi community), besides the names of Chander Prakash, a retired IAS officer, and former MLA Ramniwas Ghorela (both belonging to the backward community) have been doing the rounds in the Congress circles for the Hisar segment.

Intense lobbying is going on in the Congress. Brijendra Singh and his father Birender Singh recently joined the Congress after quitting the BJP. They are trying to convince the party leadership to field Brijendra.

The sources said former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and former Union minister Kumari Selja had also forwarded the names of their loyalists for ticket.

A retired professor of political science, ML Goyal, said the Congress’s decision could impact the seats in neighbouring Sirsa and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh as well.

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