New Delhi : With Congress making top-level appointments in Haryana Congress, Deepender Singh Hooda has said that the party leadership's decision has sent a clear message that the entire party will give provide a new alternative to people under the leadership of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Former legislator Udai Bhan, a loyalist of Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has been appointed as the new chief of the party in Haryana in place of Kumari Selja.
Deepender Hooda, a Rajya Sabha MP of Congress and son of Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said that balance in terms of region and caste has been kept in mind while making new appointments. He said appointments have also been made keeping in view the organisational capabilities of leaders.
"Congress president Sonia Gandhi's decision has sent a clear message that the entire Congress under the leadership of former chief minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda will provide a new alternative to people," Deepender Hooda, MP, told ANI.
Deepender Hooda said that new party chief had also talked about strengthening the party and forming the next government under the leadership of Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Congress on Wednesday also named four working presidents for the state - Shruti Choudhary, Ram Kishan Gujjar, Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj and Suresh Gupta.
The decision, about two years ahead of the assembly polls in the state, is being seen as an effort by the party to bring great cohesion in the state unit and curb factionalism. The Congress did badly in Haryana in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls with the BJP wresting all 10 seats from the state. The party has been out of power in the state for the last about eight years.
Hooda is the leader of the Congress legislative party in the Haryana assembly and is part of the group of change-seekers in the Congress. The Haryana Congress has seen factionalism with leaders seeking to outdo each other to show their support among people at big rallies. Selja, a former union minister, belongs to the Dalit community. Deepender Hooda is the only Congress MP from the state and is Rajya Sabha MP. Congress has sought to achieve balance in terms of caste equations in the state with the new appointments.
The new appointments came after consultations by party chief Sonia Gandhi. Haryana Congress incharge Vivek Bansal had met Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath on April 25. After the debacle in five states in March this year, the Congress has made new appointments in different states including in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had met Haryana Congress leaders and asked them to work in a united manner.