Factionalism in Congress to the fore during the 'vote chori' protest in Hisar

Factionalism within the Hisar Congress unit surfaced once again during the first visit of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Rao Narender Singh to Hisar to stage a demonstration against the ‘vote chori’ issue today. The event was also attended by Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda.

A tussle erupted on the stage at Congress Bhawan between the presidents of the District Congress Committees (DCCs) of rural and urban areas purportedly over who would conduct the stage proceedings.

When the state president arrived, DCC (Rural) chief Brij Lal Bahbalpuria was handling the stage affairs. DCC (Urban) head Bajrang Garg suddenly tried to take over the microphone. Bahbalpuria refused to hand over the mike saying he had already taken permission. Regardless of that, Garg attempted to take the microphone again. Seeing the argument escalate, former Congress candidate from Hansi Rahul Makkar intervened and requested Garg to step back, after which Garg sat down on the stage.

The matter even reached Rao Narender Singh, after which Bahbalpuria was allowed to continue to hold the proceedings.

Talking to The Tribune, Bahbalpuria said as per the protocol, the DCC (Rural) president is authorised to conduct the proceedings during the district event of the party. “On being intervened by some persons, I brought the matter to the notice of the state Congress president. Already, I was authorised to hold the affairs by the state president yesterday,” he said. However, Garg maintained that Sonu Lankesh, who is the president of the District’s SC Cell, was managing the stage affairs and he was just trying to resolve the issue between Lankesh and Bahbalpuria.

The tussle between the two leaders is not new as both belong to different factions in the state Congress. While Bahbalpuria is a close confidant of Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala, Garg is an aide of former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Earlier on October 31, both had held separate events on the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi.

The Congress workers rued that despite the fresh appointments by the Congress high command in the district after nearly a decade, fault lines in the Hisar Congress unit persisted.