Kurukshetra: Bhartiya Kisan Union President Gurnam Singh Charuni has openly criticized former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, stating, “I believe that Bhupinder Hooda is quite foolish. The atmosphere created in Haryana in favour of the Congress was made by us (farmers protest).”
"The biggest reason for the Congress's defeat is that he did not make any compromises, and Congress left everything up to him," Charuni told IANS.
Charuni further urged the Congress high command not to appoint Hooda as the leader of the opposition.
In the wake of its electoral defeat, the Congress party has shifted its focus from blaming electronic voting machines (EVMs) to examining internal factional feuds and weaknesses that contributed to their poor performance. During a review meeting chaired by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, the party decided to form a fact-finding team tasked with speaking to all candidates to ascertain the reasons behind the loss.
The meeting, attended by senior leaders including former party chief Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, did not include Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan or Bhupinder Singh Hooda, raising eyebrows among observers. Ajay Maken, speaking to reporters after the meeting, acknowledged the unexpected nature of the election results, stating, "We discussed what could be the reasons for that. We will take appropriate steps going forward."
Maken confirmed that the fact-finding committee would soon be announced to gather insights from candidates and party leaders regarding the "unexpected results." He added that the Congress plans to deploy a Technical Team to investigate complaints and discrepancies noted by candidates during the election process.
The Congress has alleged discrepancies in some EVMs during the counting of votes and has demanded that these machines be sealed pending an inquiry. A delegation of top Congress leaders, including Hooda and Ashok Gehlot, met with Election Commission officials to submit a memorandum outlining specific complaints from various constituencies.
Reports indicate that at least 20 complaints have been lodged, with several highlighting issues related to EVM battery capacity, claiming that some machines were functioning at 99 per cent while the average was between 60 to 70 per cent.
Infighting, over-reliance on sitting MLAs, and rebel trouble have been cited as contributing factors to Congress's failure to regain ground in Haryana after a decade. Although the party took an early lead during the counting, the BJP ultimately secured 48 seats, defying exit poll predictions and stalling Congress's comeback, which resulted in them winning 37 seats in the 90-member assembly.
(Inputs from PTI)