In a development that gives senior leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda an upper hand in faction-ridden Haryana Congress, the veteran's loyalist Udai Bhan has been appointed president of the state unit in place of Kumari Selja.
The appointment of Bhan, who belongs to the Dalit community like his predecessor Selja, fulfils a long pending demand from Hooda for a leadership change in the state. The Jat leader had been at loggerheads with Selja and was pressing for changes that would allow him a greater say in the decision-making in preparation for the next Assembly elections, which are scheduled for October 2024.
While Bhan, who is known to be close to Hooda, will be at the helm of the party in the state, the former chief minister continues to be the leader of the Congress Legislature Party and hence the leader of opposition in the state.
An interesting aside about Bhan, who is MLA from Hodal constituency, is that he is the son of the late Gaya Lal, whose defections had caused the fall of two governments in Haryana. Gaya Lal was the inspiration behind then Union Home Minister Yashwantrao Chavan's quote about 'Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram' brand of politics.
Four working presidents have also been appointed, the effort aimed at bringing about a balance of power between the various castes as also factions in the state unit. They are Shruti Choudhry, Ram Kishan Gujjar, Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj, Suresh Gupta.
The changes come after a series of meetings the party leadership recently held with the state leaders in an effort to resolve differences and bring about a semblance of unity ahead of the next elections.
Hooda is learnt to have been keen on leading the party into the elections as PCC president. However, there was opposition to it from the other factions in the state. As a compromise and yet an acknowledgement of Hooda's primacy in the state unit, the party high command decided to appoint a Hooda confidante as PCC chief.
