Behind Congress’ Rajya Sabha picks, bid to balance caste equations

From Haryana, Congress has fielded Ajay Maken, while Randeep Surjewala, who is a former Haryana minister and a former MLA from Kaithal, has been fielded from Rajasthan.

Party insiders told that one of the major reasons behind the decision to field Surjewala from Rajasthan rather than Haryana was taken to balance the caste equations in the state.

In the recently revamped Haryana Congress, although the party has appointed a Dalit leader Udai Bhan as the party president replacing another Dalit leader Kumari Selja, but the overall command has gone into the hands of Leader of Opposition and party veteran Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is also the CLP leader and represents Jat community. Hooda’s son, Deepender Hooda, is already in Rajya Sabha representing Haryana. Surjewala is also a Jat.

“Fielding another Jat leader from Haryana to be sent to Rajya Sabha would have disturbed the caste equations. That was one of the prime reasons that Surjewala was not fielded from Haryana,” a senior party leader told The Indian Express.

Party affairs incharge for Haryana, Vivek Bansal too accepted that the decision to field Maken, a Punjabi, from Haryana was taken to balance the caste equations and to meet demand of the Punjabi community.
“Maken is a senior leader and among the decision makers. In Haryana, it was being felt that Punjabi community was not getting as much representation in the party. Although our youth Congress state president is a Punjabi, but it was felt that this community was yet not satisfied. Thus, fielding Maken from Haryana will send a good message and I believe that it will strengthen the community’s faith in the party,” Bansal said.

Surjewala and Hooda have not been found on the same page, most of the times as former had skipped most of the events being organised by the state unit of Congress. This was especially after 2019 Assembly polls when Surjewala lost from Kaithal and also subsequently from Jind in the bypoll. Party insiders say that there would always have been a possibility of a cross-voting, had Surjewala been fielded from Haryana. Surjewala, meanwhile reached Rajasthan and got a grand welcome. Maken, accompanied by Deepender, also reached Chandigarh to file his nomination papers.

Also, Congress MLA from Adampur, Kuldeep Bishnoi had been sulking ever since he did not get any significant role in the revamped HPCC. Bishnoi had been vehemently seeking the post of HPCC president playing the non-Jat card and attempting to convince the party high command that he was one of the tallest non-Jat faces within Haryana Congress. However, Hooda got his way through and got his loyalist Udai Bhan to replace Selja. Fielding another Jat leader, now for Rajya Sabha, would have further infuriated an already angry Bishnoi who had distanced himself from all the party-events ever since the revamped HPCC was announced by general secretary KC Venugopal.

BJP, on the other hand, has declared Krishan Lal Panwar, former transport minister and a Dalit leader as its candidate from Haryana for the Rajya Sabha polls. Panwar, a known party-hopper had been a five-time MLA, represented Israna (reserve) constituency (2014-2019) in Panipat district after he left the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and won on a BJP ticket in the 2014 assembly elections. Known as a party hopper, he represented the Assandh assembly in 1991, 1996 and 2000, and Israna segment in 2009 and 2014. He had also once joined Samata Party and went on to become an MLA from Assandh.

The last date for filing nominations is May 31 while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 3. The 90-members of the Haryana assembly will be the electors and counting of votes will be held on June 10 when the biennial election will be held for two seats in Haryana.