Bhupinder Hooda loyalist Udai Bhan appointed Haryana Congress chief

The Congress on Wednesday appointed former legislator and Bhupinder Hooda-loyalist Udai Bhan as president of its Haryana state unit, replacing Kumari Selja.

The party has also named four working presidents for the state - Shruti Choudhary, Ram Kishan Gujjar, Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj and Suresh Gupta.

The decision, about two years ahead of the assembly polls in the state, is being seen as an effort by the party to bring great cohesion in the state unit and curb factionalism. The Congress did badly in Haryana in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls with the BJP wresting all 10 seats from the state. The party has been out of power in the state for the last about eight years.

Udai Bhan is seen as a loyalist of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Hooda is the leader of the Congress legislative party in the Haryana assembly and is part of the group of change-seekers in the Congress.

"Congress president has accepted the resignation of Kumari Selja from the post of the president, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect," a party statement said.

The Haryana Congress has seen factionalism with leaders seeking to outdo each other to show their support among people at big rallies.

Selja, a former union minister, belongs to the Dalit community. Bhupinder Singh Hooda's son Deepender Hooda is the only Congress MP from the state and is Rajya Sabha MP.

Congress has sought to achieve balance in terms of caste equations in the state with the new appointments.

The new appointments came after consultations by party chief Sonia Gandhi. Haryana Congress incharge Vivek Bansal had met Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath on April 25.

After debacle in five states in March this year, the Congress has made new appointments in different states including in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had met Haryana Congress leaders and asked them to work in a united manner.

( With inputs from ANI )