Assembly elections are underway in Haryana and senior Congress leader Kumari Selja is at the center of election discussions along with farmer wrestlers. Congressman Kumari Selja has distanced herself from the campaign after she used caste-related words to attack herself in a congressional program. Now, Bhupendra Singh Hooda calls Selja his sister. Deependra Singh Hooda said even strong condemnation of the incident was mild. She is a leader we respect and we respect her. On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are also pressuring the Congress to call Selja their sister.
BJP leaders from state to national levels have been vocal about Kumari Seja’s casteist remarks. When former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar invited Selja to join the BJP, party president Mohan Lal Badoli said , “We want her to become the chief minister. If she becomes the chief minister, she will be the first woman chief minister of Haryana and this will be a positive step.” ” If the state president of the BJP said this, then he must have “party interests” in mind.
There is also speculation that Kumari Seliya will leave the Congress. There were even rumors that she might join the BJP on September 25, but Kumari Selja herself denied the news on Aaj Tak’s platform. He accused the BJP of spreading confusion and directed me and my party to know how to decide our path. People raise questions, why has she become the X factor in Haryana politics?
1- Count votes
According to the 2011 census, the Dalit class constitutes 20.2% of the total population of Haryana. The state’s Jat population is estimated to be around 25%. Jats and Dalits make up about 45% of the population. If a direct Jat-Dalit vote supports any political party, it can bring that party to power.
Also read: “Sailaja is our sister and she has no grudge against the Congress…,” says Bhupendra Hooda.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress successfully ended the state’s two-poll drought by winning five seats, with the math of Jat-Dalit votes said to be the main reason behind it. The BJP saw an opportunity to upset this vote equation through its Selja chapter. Meanwhile, Congress and Hooda are trying to keep it intact. It has the Selja X factor. Selja hails from the Dalit community and is a prominent leader in the Congress.
2- pariah face
Ever since discussions about Kumari Seliya’s grievances began, the BJP has come up with an aggressive strategy on dalit politics, from chief minister Nayab Singh Saini to national president Mohan Lal Ba Dolly, people saw Congress cornering it. Call it anti-untouchability. The state president of the BJP even said that the Congress did not have the courage to declare Selja as the CM.
Also read: ‘Congress insults Dalits…’, Amit Shah mentions Kumari Selja at Haryana rally
Dalit leader Udayban is also in the Haryana Congress party chair, but since Selja is far away from the party, the anti-Dalit label is likely to be attached to the party, which It will also appear in the minds of Congress leaders. Home Minister Amit Shah also said at a rally in Fatehabad Tohana, “Congress has insulted Dalits. Be it Ashok Tanwar or Behen Selja.”
3- election gains and losses
In the Haryana elections, where the Congress is trying to garner outright anti-incumbency votes, reports of factionalism and divisions within the party could hurt its electoral prospects. The state’s Congress has been out of power for 10 years. This time, the party does not want to leave any stone unturned to end its decade-long exile from power.
Also read: ‘The blood of Congress flows in my veins…’ What does Kumari Selja say about Khattar’s proposal to join the BJP?
That’s why we tried to convey the message that everyone is united through pictures of Hooda, Selja and Randeep Surjewala sitting together and speaking at a party meeting. The BJP’s strategy appears to be to counter this effort by the Congress. In what was seen as an attempt to send the same message, BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli said the Congress did not have the courage to declare Selia the chief minister.
4- Why is Celia important to Congress?
Kumari Seliya is believed to be close to the Gandhi family. She is from the Dalit community. These factors alone do not make Celia vital to Congress. In fact, given the current Congress political landscape in Haryana, Seliya has become important to the party. Congress is unorganized in Haryana. Every leader has his own cadre. Kumari Seliya also has her own cadre base and the Congress does not want a leader of her stature to be angry.
