Congress veteran Kumari Selja, who is out of the electoral fray for the Haryana Assembly, is also missing from the campaign. There are reports that Haryana Congress leaders are expressing concern over the long absence of the Sirsa MP. However, the party has not said anything officially about it. Also, Selja has not made any statement about it. Voting is to be held in the state on October 5.
According to the Tribune report, Congress leaders are expressing concern over Shailja’s distance from the campaign. However, the reason for this is not clear yet. While former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda are busy campaigning, Shailja is missing from the ground. It is being said that due to this, the campaigning of those candidates is also getting affected, for whom she has succeeded in getting tickets. It is also believed that this may affect the party’s campaigning across the state.
Is ticket distribution the reason?
Quoting sources, the newspaper reported that factionalism in the Congress was also seen in ticket distribution. According to the report, Hooda and the party’s state president Uday Bhan played a major role in ticket distribution. At the same time, Shailaja also tried to get tickets for her supporting leaders. Sources have told the newspaper that there were differences on some seats during the selection of candidates, due to which the list was delayed, especially in Uklana and Narnaund assembly constituencies.
According to the report, sources say that being her home constituency, Shailja wanted to field a candidate of her choice in Uklana constituency. She had already publicly announced that she would demand a ticket for Congress leader Dr Ajay Chaudhary. Sources say that Shailja was successful in getting tickets for her supporting candidates on 10-11 seats in Hisar, Fatehabad and Ambaja districts.
Speaking to the newspaper, retired political science professor ML Goyal said that Shailja’s supporters felt ignored in the ticket distribution and were upset. He said, ‘If a solution is not found soon between the two factions of Haryana leaders, Shailja’s absence will affect the Congress’s prospects in the state.’