Cong eyes non-Jat support with Bishnoi’s homecoming
NEW DELHI: An upbeat Congress is hoping to consolidate its support base among the non-Jats of Haryana with the ‘ghar wapsi’ of Kuldeep Bishnoi, the son of three-time CM Bhajan Lal.
The merger of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) with the Congress on Thursday comes in the backdrop of a violent quota agitation by the Jats that has widened the caste divide in the state. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and V-P Rahul Gandhi also attended.
The HJC was formed in 2007 after the Congress preferred Jat leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda to veteran Bhajan Lal as the Haryana chief minister in 2005.
The state has been dominated by three Lals – Bansi Lal, Bhajan Lal and Devi Lal – who started their career with the Congress but later parted ways. While Bansi Lal and Devi Lal were Jats, Bhajan Lal, considered the tallest non-Jat leader of Haryana, belonged to the other backward class.
Known as a master of partyhopping and described by an earthy phrase ‘aaya Ram gaya Ram’, Bhajan Lal engineered defections on many occasions to help the Congress regain power.
The term was coined when legislator Gaya Lal shifted his loyalties three times, twice in one day. Bishnoi’s move marks the return of another Lal family to the Congress.
In October 2004, another threeterm CM Bansi Lal had merged his Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) with the Congress. He quit the Congress in 1996 following differences with Bhajan Lal and formed the HVP.
In the 2014 general elections, Bishnoi tied up with the BJP but lost to the INLD’s Dushyant Chautala. However, the two parties snapped ties a few months later due to differences over seatsharing ahead of the state elections. Since then, the Congress has been trying to woo Bishnoi and the merger process was finally set in motion after his meeting with Rahul on April
ANOTHER THREE-TERM CM BANSI LAL HAD MERGED HIS HARYANA VIKAS PARTY (HVP) WITH THE CONGRESS. HE QUIT THE CONGRESS IN 1996 FOLLOWING DIFFERENCES WITH BHAJAN LAL AND FORMED THE HVP.
25. Calling the proposed merger unconditional, Bishnoi said the two parties have come together to oust the BJP from Haryana.
Bishnoi’s father enjoyed support among non-Jats, who constitute about 70% of Haryana’s population. However, the Jats have dominated the state’s politics. Of 12 CMs so far, nine have been Jats.
Congress leaders feel that non-Jats have now turned their backs to the BJP despite the ruling party appointing Manohar Lal Khattar, a Punjabi, as the CM following its first electoral success in 2014. Khattar became the first non-Jat to lead the state in 18 years. Political observers insist that Bishnoi’s entry into the Congress does not augur well for Hooda who is facing the heat after his former political advisor Professor Virender, was arrested for allegedly inciting violence during the recent Jat agitation.
The fact that there was no intermediary between Bishnoi and Rahul in chalking out the merger plan also indicates the emergence of new power centre in the Congress in Haryana and it remains to be seen how the senior leaders respond to this move.