Kumari Selja’s displeasure on the one hand and Manohar Lal Khattar’s political offer on the other hand have increased the tension of the Congress. It is being said that if Selja does get upset, the grand party Congress, which has been trying to end 10 years of political exile, could face a setback in Haryana. The reason is Kumari Selja’s political stature and Haryana’s electoral equation.
Polling is proposed on October 5 for the 90 Haryana Assembly seats, where the Congress and the BJP are in a direct contest.
Why is Kumari Selja angry with Congress?
In the midst of assembly elections in Haryana, Sirsa MP Kumari Selja’s displeasure is in the news. It is being said that Selja is upset about not getting preference in ticket distribution. Out of the 89 seats for which the Congress has announced tickets, the Selja group has been given importance in only 9 seats.
72 tickets have been given to Bhupinder Hooda group and 2 tickets to Randeep Surjewala group. Shelja had recently staked claim to the post of chief minister, but the high command did not show much interest in it. Since then Selja has been missing from the main picture. Selja recently accused the Congress in-charge of working for only one party.
Not only this, when the Congress released its election manifesto for Haryana, Selja was not even seen on the platform. However, his name is surely included in the list of star campaigners of the party.
Khattar’s political offer to Selja
Former CM Manohar Lal Khattar, who came to campaign in Karnal’s Gharounda, offered Kumari Selja to join the BJP. Khattar said that Selja is being insulted in the Congress. All this is an insult to the depressed class.
Khattar further said that Kumari Selja is being mistreated within the Congress today. They are not being allowed to enter the political arena. I want Selja to come to BJP and work here.
Former CM Khattar further said that only two people are running within Congress in Haryana. One of the father and the other of the son. Khattar said that father and son are fighting each other for the post of Chief Minister.
Will Selja’s displeasure cost the Congress?
After Manohar Lal Khattar’s political offer and Kumari Selja’s displeasure, the question is whether this could prove costly for the Congress in the Haryana elections? To understand this question let us know how strong Selja is in Haryana politics?
1. Hereditary politics, Dalit face
Kumari Selja inherited politics. His father Chaudhary Dalbir Singh was a veteran Congress leader. Selja has also been a minister in the Manmohan Singh government and is currently an MP from Sirsa. She has already won elections from Ambala too.
Selja’s image in the Congress is that of a Dalit leader. Dalits constitute about 20 percent of Haryana’s population and 17 of the 90 assembly seats are reserved for this community.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Congress got massive votes from Dalits. Selja also won the election by a huge margin. Since then there were speculations that Celja would be in a big role.
According to CSDS, 68 percent of Dalits voted in favor of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, which was almost 40 percent higher than in 2019.
2. Retain Ambala and Sirsa seats
There are 20 Assembly seats under Ambala and Sirsa Lok Sabha and Selja has a strong hold here. Selja has won elections from Ambala and Sirsa seats. The 9 people who have been given tickets from Selja are also from this area. In the last election, Congress won 5 out of 10 Ambala Lok Sabha seats.
Similarly, Congress got only 2 out of 10 seats in Sirsa. That is, in 2019, Congress could win only 7 seats out of 20. It is being said that if Selja gets upset this time, it is sure to affect more seats.
Haryana has a total of 90 assembly seats, where a minimum of 46 MLAs are required to form the government. In the 2019 assembly elections, BJP won 40 seats, but then BJP formed the government with the help of independents and JJP MLAs.
If we look at the latest Lok Sabha election data, out of 90, BJP is leading in 44 seats, Congress in 42 and AAP in 4 seats.
