The LoP albatross around Congress neck

The Congress, which initiated its organisational restructuring after 11 years with the announcement of 32 district presidents, is yet to decide on its Leader of the Opposition (LoP) nearly 11 months after the Assembly polls. The BJP had pulled off a stunning win to reduce the grand old party to the second spot in the polls held last October.

With the upcoming monsoon session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha scheduled to begin on August 22, all eyes are on the Congress, which is juggling various power centres and factions within the party.

According to sources, the name of the LoP could be announced before the session concludes. They maintain that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on his return from Bihar on August 20, could take a call on the matter based on the recommendations of the three-member committee of Ashok Gehlot, Ajay Maken and Partap Singh Bajwa. However, there is also a likelihood of the name being announced when Gandhi takes up Haryana matters on August 24. “The name will be announced shortly. The recommendation of the committee is with the leadership,” said the party general secretary in charge, BK Hariprasad.

Meanwhile, as the parties ready for the third Assembly session since the formation of the new state government, the Congress leaders say that its MLAs will raise the key issues, even in the absence of a designated opposition leader, as they have done in the past two sessions.

The Congress is the second largest party in the House, with 37 MLAs — a majority of whom are aligned to a former Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, considered the strongest contender for the post of LoP. However, rival factions are pushing for a change of face to lead the MLAs in the House.

The indecision has given the ruling BJP ample opportunity to take a dig at the Congress. Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda, responding to media queries in Jhajjar recently, took a swipe at the Congress: “There might be two reasons for the delay — either the party high command does not trust its Haryana leaders or it believes none of them are qualified to become the Leader of the Opposition.”

The selection of the LoP is important since this appointment will decide who will head the state unit of the party. The Congress follows the Jat-non-Jat formula in its appointments, balancing power between the two positions of the LoP and the state chief. If a Jat is given the charge of the LoP, a non-Jat is likely to hold the reins of the party and vice versa.

Haryana Tribune