Congress names Kumari Selja as RS nominee from Haryana, Hooda bares displeasure

CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday bared his displeasure over the Congress naming Kumari Selja as its Rajya Sabha nominee from the state when he said, “Wedding horse essentially goes to wedding and race horses will contest the polls.” Selja, who resigned from the Union council of ministers on Tuesday, is a known anti-Hooda lobbyist and had openly blamed the CM for ‘biased’ progress in her constituency Ambala.

The four-time Lok Sabha member’s Rajya Sabha nomination has come as a setback for Hooda, who wanted state Congress president Phool Chand Mullana or incumbent MP Ram Prakash to take Haryana’s lone Upper House berth.

Opposition parties say the development proves that senior Congress leaders are shying away from contesting the upcoming elections due to impending loss. Both national and Haryana assembly elections are scheduled for this year. Selja was considered to be a confirmed candidate for Lok Sabha from Ambala, a seat she has won twice.

Other sitting Lok Sabha members of Congress, Sonepat MP Jitender Malik and Sirsa MP Ashok Tanvar, too, do not figure among the 102 party members keen to contest Lok Sabha polls from Haryana. Congress MP from Gurgaon, Rao Inderjit Singh, has already defected and joined the BJP. Tanvar is now said to be in contention for the post of state party president.

Selja’s nomination for Rajya Sabha seat is being attributed to her proximity to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Opposition parties BJP and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) allege that the move is an attempt to save Selja’s political career as Congress is headed for a humiliating defeat.

“It is an attempt by the party to save her from imminent loss,” BJP MLA Anil Vij said. “Congress has suffered drubbing in assembly polls and surveys have forecast Congress to win only a single Lok Sabha seat in Haryana,” he said.

In 2009 Congress won nine out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. An INLD leader said senior Congress leaders are shying from contesting polls. “Many have submitted applications for sake of formality as they know not much progress has been made in their constituencies,” the person said.