Cong revamps Haryana unit: Hooda loyalist Udai Bhan replaces Selja as president

New Delhi/ Chandigarh: The Congress on Wednesday revamped its Haryana unit, appointing former legislator Udai Bhan as president of its state unit, replacing Kumari Selja, and naming four working presidents.

As part of the reorganisation that had been on the cards for the past few weeks, the Congress appointed Shruti Choudhary, Ram Kishan Gujjar, Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj and Suresh Gupta as working presidents in a bid to strike a power balance in the party's state unit.

"Hon'ble Congress President has accepted the resignation of Kumari Selja from the post of the President, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect," senior leader K C Venugopal said in a statement.

Selja told PTI that she had submitted her resignation to the party high command a few days ago.

"I am a true soldier of the Congress party. I have full faith in my high command and we will all work together. My congratulations to the new state unit president and the working presidents," she said.

Like Selja, Bhan (66) is from the Scheduled Caste community. He has been an MLA from Hodal and Hasanpur and is considered a close confidant of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Hooda, Leader of the Opposition in Haryana, termed Bhan a hardworking leader who has worked at the grassroots. "His appointment will further strengthen the Congress," Hooda told PTI.

Referring to the appointment of the four working presidents, Hooda said, "All will work together and strengthen the Congress."

The new state unit chief thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for reposing faith in him.

Bhan said his focus will be on strengthening the party and ensuring a strong organisational structure in the state, where the assembly elections are due in 2024.

"The entire Congress is united and we will win the forthcoming elections," he added.

Udai Bhan (66) has been MLA four times - thrice from Hasanpur constituency, in 1987, 2000 and 2005, and once from Hodal (after the delimitation) in 2014.

His father Gaya Lal was elected MLA twice from Hasanpur (Reserved) seat, in 1967 and 1977, and the term Aya Ram, Gaya Ram - a reference to politicians who switch sides easily -- is said to have been inspired by his career.

Gaya Lal, then an independent MLA, changed his political loyalties thrice in a matter of days in 1967, barely a year after Haryana was carved out as a separate state on November 1, 1966.

Working president Shruti Choudhary is a former MP and the daughter of senior Congress leader from Haryana Kiran Choudhary. She thanked Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Vivek Bansal, the Haryana in-charge at the AICC, for the new role.

"We will work very hard at the grassroots and strengthen the party," she told PTI.

When asked about claims about factionalism' in the Congress state unit, Choudhary, while referring to the new appointments, said, "This is a very clear message that the Congress stands as one.

I don't think there is any ambiguity today. Everybody has come together and we are going to work very strongly as a unit and lead the party to victory in the next polls".

Working president Suresh Gupta, who is considered close to senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, said, The new team given by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will work together and the Congress will return to power in Haryana in the next election."

Working president Ram Kishan Gujjar is considered close to Selja and his colleague Jitender Bhardwaj to Hooda.