NEW DELHI: Amid speculation over the chief ministerial candidate of the party ahead of poll results on Tuesday, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that he is “neither tired nor retired.”
The former CM, a frontrunner for the CM post, said on Monday that the final decision of the party high command about the top post would be acceptable to everyone.
Even as the exit polls were out on Saturday, hectic parleys began in the Congress camp to decide the next CM. Hooda reached the capital on Sunday evening and is learnt to have held meetings with the top leadership.
The top contenders for the post are Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister Kumari Selja, former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, his son and Lok Sabha MP Deepender Hooda, Rajya Sabha MP and AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and state Congress chief and Dalit leader Udai Bhan, a Hooda loyalist.
The exit polls have predicted a victory for the Congress, predicting 50-55 seats for the party and 20-25 seats for the BJP. The Haryana Assembly has 90 seats and the majority mark is 46.
Speaking to the media in the Capital, Hooda said: “The opinion of MLAs will be sought, and then the high command will make the final decision. The decision will be acceptable to all.”
Hooda also highlighted governance during his term from 2005 to 2014. He claimed that the law and order deteriorated under the BJP rule, similar to the situation before he became the CM.
“The vote share of Congress increased in all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. In all the 90 Assembly seats also, the vote share of Congress went up,” said Hooda. He also emphasized his political ambition by saying, “I again say it, neither am I tired nor retired,” despite being 77 years old.
His arch-rival Selja, a prominent Dalit face, hasn’t minced words and never shied away from projecting herself as the probable CM candidate. Speaking to the media in the capital on Monday, Selja said: “I cannot say anything now. A decision will be announced by the leadership and everyone will accept that,” she said.
Majority mark is 46
The exit polls have predicted a victory for the Congress, predicting 50-55 seats for the party and 20-25 seats for the ruling BJP. The Haryana Assembly has 90 seats and the majority mark is 46.