Congress likely to contest independently in Haryana

In a bid to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in forthcoming parliamentary polls, the Congress in Haryana has been mulling over a counter strategy. Notably, a group of 26 parties have come together under the banner of ‘INDIA’ (or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), at the national stage. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a political rival of the Congress, in Delhi and Punjab, also joined the alliance, despite having been at loggerheads with the Congress over a string of issues. In order to present a united front, the AAP has set a condition before the Congress to oppose the Delhi services ordinance that is to be tabled by the BJP-led Centre on 31 July in Parliament.
While the Congress high command has assented to this to some extent, questions about a potential alliance in Haryana have been raised. With 30 MLAs, the Congress is the second-largest party in the state. Political experts say that the party has gained some stable ground in Haryana as compared to 2019.
However, keeping the current political atmosphere in the state in mind, the upcoming elections might very well turn into a multi-cornered battle. Despite this, an alliance with regional parties might be hard to come by. Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been vocal about his disapproval of forming any alliances, stating that the party does not need “crutches” and is capable of forming a government of its own. Hooda has said many times that the party is “not in favour” of an alliance with either the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) or the AAP.
Additionally, the Congress needs to overcome rampant infighting between bigwigs within the party. It is also worth stating that AAP is still looking like a new entrant into Haryana politics after the party failed to win a single Assembly or Lok Sabha seat since it entered Haryana.
Only last year, the party’s candidate for the Adampur by-election, Shatendra Singh, faced a debacle and with just 3400 votes, his deposit was forfeited. At present, the AAP is surviving with leaders imported from other parties. The party’s state president and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta, as well as campaign committee chairman Dr Ashok Tanwar, Nirmal Singh and his daughter Chitra Sarwara all joined the AAP after quitting the Congress. However, Tanwar is of the opinion that the party is strong enough to contest the Assembly elections alone. On the other hand, the INLD is demanding a third front against the ruling party and INLD supremo OP Chautala has clearly indicated that the party has no qualms with a Congress alliance.