Hooda-Surjewala mic exchange sparks off discussion on power dynamics in Haryana Congress

A light-hearted but politically charged exchange between former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and party’s Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala at the welcome programme for the newly appointed All-India Congress Committee in-charge for Haryana, Sanjay Dutt, has sparked off discussions regarding emerging power dynamics within the State’s Congress party.

In the viral 30-second video, former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda leaned in and told Mr. Surjewala: “Tu mera saath de, fer dekh dhamaka” — You support me, then see the impact. Mr. Surjewala took the mic from State party president Rao Narendra Singh and shot back: “Mujhe apka sath dete hue 20 saal ho gaye. Ab apki bari hai mera sath dene ki.” [It’s been 20 years I’ve supported you. Now it’s your turn.]

With these remarks, Mr. Surejwala too has thrown his hat into the ring subtly laying bare his aspirations for a greater role in the State politics in the time to come.

Mr. Surjewala did not stop there. On stage, he laid out the numbers that have haunted the party for nearly two decades. “Since 2005 (when Mr. Hooda first became the Chief Minister) we have not won a single election on our own,” he said. Congress has won only three Assembly elections with a simple majority since Haryana’s formation — 1972, 1991, and 2005. “We formed governments with support, but that’s different,” he added, in an unmistakable dig, referring to the Hooda-led government in 2009 after five Haryana Janhit Congress MLAs defected and merged with the Congress.

He also swatted away the Hooda camp’s defence of the 2024 results. Despite a high vote share, “the number of MLAs got stuck at 37, but you need 46,” he quipped. “You cannot implement programmes without being in power. You can’t bring social change without being in power. That is the harsh reality.”

Clamour for change

The timing of the exchange between the two leaders too matters. The party’s narrow loss in the 2024 Assembly polls has revived internal demands for change. A section of workers blame the Hoodas’ for the repeated setbacks. The high command’s own hesitation was visible in the year-long delay in naming Mr. Hooda as Leader of Opposition after the poll loss — widely read as a pushback against his dominance.

But the Gandhis have sent mixed signals. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attending the Hoodas’ annual lunch earlier this year was seen as an endorsement that briefly silenced critics. That calm did not last. Mr. Gandhi’s participation in former MP Brijendra Singh’s Padyatra was viewed as a setback for the Hooda camp, which stayed away from it, calling it “not an official party programme.”

Mr. Hooda, 78, has been at the helm of affairs in the party’s State unit for around three decades. Besides being the two-time Chief Minister from 2005-2014 and the Haryana Pradesh Congress President from 1996 to 2021, he has also been thrice the Leader of the Opposition. His son Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, too, has been five-time Member of Parliament, including a term in Rajya Sabha.

Ambiguous relationship

Mr. Surjewala’s position in this churn is complicated. He served as a Cabinet Minister in both Hooda governments and once considered close to him, but the relationship has been ambiguous. He had long been bracketed with the anti-Hooda “SRK” group — alongside Kumari Selja and Kiran Choudhary — a grouping named by local media. After Ms. Choudhary quit for BJP, Mr. Surjewala and son Aditya backed Mr. Brijendra Singh during the padyatra — a known Hooda rival.

His move to national politics also spoke volumes. After losing the Jind by-poll and his home turf Kaithal in 2019 Assembly polls, the 59-year-old contested the 2022 Rajya Sabha elections from Rajasthan, not Haryana. The choice was widely interpreted as a precaution against sabotage by the Hooda camp — and as proof of how little trust remained.