Kuldeep Bishnoi would have been best Haryana Congress president: Randeep Surjewala

Chandigarh, May 1

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday threw his weight behind party colleague Kuldeep Bishnoi who was admittedly “very angry” on not being given any position in the revamped Haryana Congress, and said Bishnoi “would have been the best state unit president”.

The Congress on Wednesday reorganised its Haryana unit, appointing former legislator and Bhupinder Singh Hooda loyalist Udai Bhan as the chief of its state unit in place Kumari Selja.

Adampur MLA Bishnoi had lobbied hard for a key role in the state unit, but he did not land any post.

On Wednesday evening, he had told his supporters that like them “he was also very angry”, but urged them to keep patience.

At a news conference here Sunday on the state’s power “crisis”, Surjewala, who is also the Congress general secretary, was asked about the development.

He said, “Kuldeep Bishnoi would have been the best state unit president, but it is the party’s decision who will be the state unit chief.”

He also said Selja was doing good work, “but sometimes circumstances arise…and she (Selja) offered to resign and later gave her resignation”.

He congratulated the new state Congress president, but added, “I believe that Kuldeep Bishnoi is a very able, talented, and a civilised person and leader. The Congress party requires and needs leaders like Bishnoi.”

“I believe the Congress leadership will speak to him, rather is already doing so and Kuldeep Bishnoi will be given a befitting post in the organisational set up to use his services. I am hopeful,” said Surjewala, a former Haryana minister.

Udai Bhan’s appointment has the stamp of former chief minister Hooda whose stronghold on the party will be further strengthened since he himself is the CLP leader. The power factor continues to be with Hooda, who will enjoy a freehold within the party now.

The Congress had also appointed Shruti Choudhary, Ram Kishan Gujjar, Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj, and Suresh Gupta as working presidents in the state.

In a late evening tweet in Hindi on Wednesday, Bishnoi had responded to some of his supporters who said he had been “betrayed”, and said, “Friends, I am reading all of your messages on social media”.

“I am very emotional to see your immense love. I am also very angry like you. But I request everyone that unless I seek an answer from Rahul (Gandhi) ji, we do not have to take any step. If you have affection towards me, then have patience,” Bishnoi had tweeted.

Bishnoi, a prominent non-Jat face of the state Congress, had before the revamp, met senior leaders of the party in Delhi as part of the reorganisation of the state unit, which had been on the cards for the past few weeks.

Over a year ago, Bishnoi had batted for promoting young faces with a “mass base” to strengthen the party.