‘They Can’t Ignore Me’: Congress MP Kumari Shelja Confident Of Being In Race For Haryana CM

As Haryana gears up to vote for the legislative assembly election on Saturday, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kumari Selja has thrown the gauntlet down as far as the party’s pick for a probable Haryana Chief Minister goes.

She said that the choice of the CM, should the Congress win, will be taken by the Congress high command but she can’t be ignored. Selja said that she was a senior leader with enough weight to be considered a front runner for the top post.

“…It is only for the high command to answer and they will have to decide (about the CM candidate). There will be some people in the consideration zone and I think Selja will be among them. The high command will look at seniority, work and all these things, so the high command will not ignore Selja in this. My commitment to the party has never been in question, this is one thing they know and they are sure of,” she said in an interview to news agency ANI.

Congress Leaders React

Party leader Deepender Hooda reacted to Selja’s statement and reiterated the previous stance on CM’s pick. “CM candidate will be decided by party’s high command. This is the process in Congress Party. Nothing is wrong with this. High command decides that.”

Congress leader Ashok Tanway, who recently switched from saffron camp to grand old party said that the high command doesn’t ignore anyone.

There has been a poster war in the state, with some projecting Selja as the chief ministerial face, while the party’s campaigns seem to be projecting former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Selja, known as Hooda’s rival in the Congress, is considered a powerful Dalit woman face in the Congress with proximity to the Gandhis. She is likely to influence over nine assembly sets and if her workers are demoralised and decide to not work, it would end up harming the party.

Is Selja Upset With Congress?

The Congress MP further thwarted the rising speculations of her being uspet with the grand old party and joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that she will not go anywhere.

“Nobody can be the whole and sole leader of someone but the community watches what happens with their leader. Selja kabhi nahi gayi, na jaati hai…(Selja has never gone neither will go) Why would Selja go? Delhi is a hub where a lot of illogical things go around…But people of my state know me well…Selja toh Congressi hai. I am not upset with Congress…” she said.

“I am not upset with Congress. A lot of discussions happen, and several situations come up…These keep happening… Sammaan toh hai. There is no doubt about it. There is position, there is respect. Many a time, some things happen that make people feel that full respect wasn’t accorded…Politics is the game of perception…Nobody can get 100% tickets, it would not have been possible…It is the party’s internal matter…I am too a part of the party and so are others,” she added.

She downplayed speculation surrounding her absence from the campaign, asserting that the Congress was well-positioned for the upcoming polls.

Selja had been largely absent from the party’s campaign in recent days, instead focusing on her Lok Sabha constituency. During the campaigning, speculations of Selja leaving the Congress were raised claiming that the party was not giving due respect to her.

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya had earlier posted on X that when the Congress’s 7 guarantees were being announced, Selja was missing in action even though she was in Delhi. Union Minister and former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar had also offered the Raja Sabha MP to join the saffron camp.

Haryana will go to the polls on Saturday to elect its 90-member state legislative assembly, with counting set to take place on October 8. In the 2019 elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, securing 40 seats, while Congress won 30 seats.

(With inputs from ANI)