New Delhi:

The Haryana election result is a “big setback for the Congress”, senior leader and one-time chief ministerial hopeful Kumari Selja told NDTV Tuesday afternoon. “…very disappointing,” she said.

“I was very excited in the morning… we had expected to win up to 60 (of Haryana’s 90 Assembly seats), so this result is a big setback for us. We will assess the reasons for our defeat… there can be many… and see how these can be overcome for future elections,” the senior leader told NDTV.

Ms Selja offered a brief analysis of the Congress’ poor showing despite a feeling of anti-incumbency against the Bharatiya Janata Party. “See… before the election there were two factors – BJP’s negative (image) and the Congress as a credible option. We were wrong in (assuming) both these things.”

“We will have to look at all these factors,” Ms Selja told NDTV, also seeming to take a swipe at state rival Bhupinder Hooda, “Ticket distribution was also an issue (but) what can we say about this now?”

READ | Infighting To Jat Focus: 5 Factors In Congress’ Haryana Setback

The Congress – bidding to stop the BJP from a third consecutive win in the Hindi heartland state – got off to a flying start, posting strong gains in early leads drawn from postal ballots.

These prompted celebrations at the party’s HQ in Delhi and in the state, with enthusiastic supporters distributing jalebis and bursting firecrackers. But the ruling party mounted a thrilling comeback.

READ | BJP Heads For Big Win In Haryana Thriller, 3rd Term Preps On

By about 9 am the BJP had overhauled and overtaken its rival, and has not looked back since; Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is now set to record its biggest ever election victory in the state.

The rapid and unsettling turnaround in the Congress’ fortunes in Haryana – in which it battled the BJP to a draw, sharing the state’s 10 Lok Sabha seats – has played out against a backdrop of internal bickering, led by dispute between Ms Selja and Bhupinder Hooda over the Chief Minister’s post.

Ms Selja and Mr Hooda have both made no secret of their ambitions.

Kumari Selja vs Bhupinder Hooda

Hours earlier, just as the Congress’ hold on the result was slipping away, Ms Selja spoke to NDTV. “Yes. I am among the contenders… but the final decision is with the party high command,” she said.

READ | “CM Decision With High Command”: Congress’ Kumari Selja To NDTV

Meanwhile, the 77-year-old Mr Hooda is raring for a third term; he made it clear to news agency PTI he is “neither tired nor retired” but also said the party HQ, and its elected MLAs, will take the call.

There was significant buzz in Haryana political circles last month after Ms Selja seemed to be in a funk; a prominent state leader with influence over the Dalit vote, she delayed campaigning for the party.

There was speculation she was unhappy with the way candidates were chosen; these seemed to favour loyalists of Bhupinder Hooda. She was also unhappy, it was said, at being taken for granted.

READ | “Should Never Be Doubt…”: Congress’ Kumari Selja On BJP Rumours

One of the issues flagged was that Ms Selja had made it clear she wanted to contest the state poll, but that was overruled by the party HQ and she was fielded from (and won) the Sirsa Lok Sabha seat.

She later told NDTV, “I wanted to contest… party didn’t allow. That is ok…”, but then warned of “issues… serious issues” that need to be resolved within the Congress’ state unit.

“It was never intended I shall remain absent (from the campaign) throughout. I will campaign…” she also said, “…because I am a party solider. I’ve always said I am a good soldier.”

What Hooda Said

Last week Mr Hooda dismissed “hypothetical questions” and underlined his position on the chief ministerial race – that the final decision will be taken by the Congress’ central leadership.

But more telling was his response to a question on Kumari Selja becoming the Congress’ next Haryana Chief Minister. “This is a democracy… everybody should aspire. But the MLAs will decide…” he said.

The reference to MLAs deciding is key because a majority of them are understood to be loyal to the former Chief Minister, Ms Selja has already said it is “not healthy” for state lawmakers to be involved in the selection of a Chief Minister; “I think the ‘high command’ should decide, otherwise people get tied down and that, I feel, also leads to further factionalism,” she told NDTV this week.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

Congress MP Kumari Selja set the record straight Monday amid rumours she is sulking and has opted to not campaign for the Haryana election – because she was not allowed to contest – telling NDTV “there should never be any doubts” about her commitment to the party and state.

Ms Selja called herself a “loyal worker…good soldier” and said she will hit campaign starting this week, telling NDTV, “It was never intended I shall remain absent (from the campaign) throughout. I will campaign… because I am a party solider. I’ve always said I am a good soldier.”

She did, however, acknowledge “there are issues… serious issues” that need to be resolved. She did not provide specifics but said the Congress senior leadership “is working on” the problems.

“I made it very clear… even before the Lok Sabha election… I want to serve the people of Haryana as a legislator rather than MP. But the general election came first. So the party decided, I decided, we all decided, that I should contest that election,” she told NDTV.

“But that didn’t mean one can’t contest the Vidhan Sabha election… there can always be a bypoll for the Lok Sabha seat. But now that is a separate issue. I wanted to contest… party didn’t allow. That is ok,” she said.

She did, though, suggest her contesting the state election would have sent a “strong message” and that the Congress could have benefitted from her candidature, but waved aside any talk of infighting, saying, “… in any case, the party will form the (state) government.”

There were rumours Kumari Selja had fallen out with the Congress’ Delhi HQ over her desire to contest the Haryana election. The 61-year-old won the Sirsa Lok Sabha seat in the April-June general election but also wanted to contest the state election, a wish that was refused.

Had she won it would have triggered a bypoll for the Lok Sabha seat, and the Congress, it is understood, is unwilling to risk losing one of its 99 seats.

READ | “Always Possibilities”: Kumari Selja’s Signal On Haryana Top Job

A senior Dalit leader – who has twice served as a union minister – she was seen by many as a contender for the Chief Minister’s post, if the Congress were to win next month’s election.

All of this led the BJP to declare she had been “disrespected”.

There was also an ‘invitation’, proffered by ex-Chief Minister ML Khattar, who declared “any self-respecting person” in her shoes would consider their next steps. Mr Khattar’s successor, Nayab Singh Saini, then criticised the Congress for being “anti-Dalit… for not respecting Dalits”.

READ | “Only She Can Answer”: Khattar On Buzz Of Kumari Selja In BJP

However, speaking to NDTV this afternoon Ms Selja laughed off such talk and invited the BJP, instead, to “first set their own house in order”. “How much respect do they give (to Dalits) …”

Speaking separately to news agency PTI, she quipped “maybe the BJP is more worried”.

Talk of her jumping ship was also dismissed by the Congress’ candidate for the Uchana Kalan Assembly seat, Brijendra Singh, who hit out at the BJP’s “shop of lies”.

Voting for the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 5. Votes will be counted on October 8, with those from Jammu and Kashmir’s first Assembly election in a decade.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.