Congress to form govt in 2024, claims Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan

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Chandigarh, November 9

Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan and Adampur candidate Jai Prakash said the results of the Adampur byelection have made it clear that the future belongs to the Congress and the party is going to form the government in 2024.

Other candidates benefitted BJP

The INLD and Aam Aadmi Party fielded candidates to indirectly benefit the BJP. However, our candidate got over 52,000 votes, which is a record against the Bhajan Lal clan. — Udai Bhan, President, Haryana Congress

Addressing a press conference at the party office here today, Udai Bhan said all the arch-rivals, including BJP-JJP, the Bhajan Lal family, the Chautala family and Jat leader Birender Singh’s family had united to defeat the Congress. “The BJP misused power and money power in the elections. The INLD and Aam Aadmi Party fielded candidates to indirectly benefit the BJP. However, our candidate got over 52,000 votes, which is a record against the Bhajan Lal clan ,” he said.

Maintaining that BJP knows its victory by a “small margin” (over 16,000 votes) carries a message of a big defeat, the Congress president said it was due to this disappointment that BJP and Kuldeep Bishnoi supporters attacked Jai Prakash.

Adding that the Congress got full support of all segments of the society, including Dalits and Backward Classes, Udaybhan said, “A few months ago, in the Ellenabad byelection, the Congress got about 10 per cent votes in Dalit booths and 44 per cent votes in Adampur. When Congress contested Adampur election in 2014 without Bishnoi family, the party candidate got only 10,000 votes. But in the 2022 byelection, the Congress got five times more votes,” he said.

He pointed out that Bishnoi won the 2019 assembly elections against BJP on the Congress ticket by a margin of around 30,000 votes. “While in opposition, Congress reduced his margin to half. These figures are testimony to the growing graph of Congress,” he added.

“The anger of BJP that was witnessed after the election results shows that the power is going to go out of its hands. On the day of counting, my convoy faced a deadly attack and now in Khairampur village, the residents who staged a protest demanding teachers, have been targeted. The tents of the protest site were set ablaze and the houses of Dalits were pelted with stones. It is for the first time that the supporters of the winning candidate are furious, and the Congress is full of confidence despite the defeat,” Jai Prakash stated.

Emphasising that the Congress tried to take along all factions to put up a united front, two leaders said they contacted Selja and Kiran Choudhary. “I spoke with Selja and asked for her campaign programme in Adampur but she did not respond. Jai Prakash personally went to see her and spoke to Choudhary. They were non-committal. We did our best,” said Udhaybhan adding that Randeep Singh Surjewala was busy with an assignment in Karnataka during the campaign.