New Delhi: Ruling out the possibility of an alliance with the AAP for the Haryana Assembly polls, senior Congress leader Kumari Selja has said her party is strong in the state and will fight the elections on its own. In an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters here, the Lok Sabha MP and the party's prominent Dalit face also dismissed the possibility of a hung assembly, asserting that the Congress would secure an "excellent majority" in the 90-member House.
Selja also asserted that the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has lost a lot of ground in Haryana as it is "breaking up" and does not have a chance in the upcoming polls. "The JJP has lost ground. This time you will not find many takers for the JJP. Even last time, most of the candidates who won were from the Congress. Today, it is already breaking up. Most of their MLAs have already left them. I don't see much of a chance for the JJP in this election," the AICC general secretary and former Haryana Congress chief said.
She also dismissed the INLD-BSP alliance, pointing out that both parties had lost a lot of ground in the state. "I don't think so (they will cut into our votes). The (Indian National) Lok Dal's performance was abysmal in the Lok Sabha polls. The BSP has also lost a lot of ground. So, this alliance may have been forged in whatever way but when the results come out, you will see that this alliance will also come a cropper," Selja said.
Asked whether there was a possibility of the Congress forging an alliance in Haryana with its INDIA bloc partner Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Selja said, "We are partners (at the national level) but if you remember, it was decided that in every state, they (partners) can decide on their own. The AAP has gone on record first (to say) that they will not have an alliance in the Vidhan Sabha polls."
"I do think that the Congress is strong on its own and we will fight on our own," she asserted. Exuding confidence of a big Congress win in the upcoming assembly polls, Selja claimed the people of the state are "totally against" the BJP. "We are fighting on 90 seats and for us, every seat is important. We can go as high as possible," she said when asked to predict the number of seats the Congress would get.
After 10 years of the BJP in Haryana, people definitely want change, she added. "The BJP pan-Haryana did not have much support on ground. I don't like to get personal but I don't think their chief minister had political experience so that also went against them. "Even within their party (BJP), there were a lot of pulls and pressures, there is a total disconnect and they are going to pay for that," Selja said.
Asked about lateral entry in bureaucracy and the Congress' opposition to it despite having backed it when it was in power, Selja said, "It has to evolve over time. Today it is an issue, so we will speak about it. "How can you say (that) 17 years ago, 20 years ago what happened and because 'you did it then we are going to do it'. Today it is an issue and we are raising our voice over it."
She asserted that in all recruitments, reservation has to be followed. The whole policy needs a relook to include reservations, Selja said about the lateral entry issue. Talking about the election issues in Haryana, Selja said a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) and withdrawal of the Agnipath military recruitment scheme are major demands in the state.
She said the Congress has categorically stated that it would ensure a legal guarantee for MSP and is also demanding the withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme as it discriminates even among martyrs. She said unemployment is one of the biggest issues in Haryana.
"Unemployment is a huge issue in Haryana. Then there have been scams, there have been paper leaks. There is a lot of backlog in vacancies. If we come down to a few issues it would be unemployment, inflation, decisions of the government such as the Parivar Pehchan Patra that has proven to be such a scam, and education," she said.
She also asserted that corruption was a major issue in Haryana. Selja also ruled out the possibility of MLAs switching sides post-polls, asserting that people are choosing the Congress this time. On talk of wrestler Vinesh Phogat being fielded in the polls, Selja said she could not comment on it at this moment.
"But yes I do feel strongly about what has happened to Vinesh. She was so close (to winning an Olympic medal) and there are a lot of unanswered questions --? how it happened, what happened, who was incharge. You cannot blame the poor girl. What were the nutritionists, who were supposed to watch over, doing? These questions are not being answered," the Congress leader said.
Women wrestlers were dragged on the roads and look at the determination and grit of this woman, Selja said, lauding Phogat for her performance at the Olympics. Phogat had become the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the Olympic finals but was disqualified for being 100 gm overweight in her 50 kg category.
Asked about khap panchayats, Selja said, "Let me put the record straight. Khap panchayats are not bad. These are social groups. Sometimes one small thing gets blown out of proportion but many times and most of the time, they sit and resolve social issues." So khap panchayat is not a bad thing as it also encourages brotherhood in society, she said.
Elections to the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 1 and the results will be declared on October 4. The Congress is looking to unseat the BJP and return to power after 10 years in the opposition. After the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP formed a coalition government with the JJP. However, the coalition broke after disagreements over seat sharing in the Lok Sabha elections. Later, the BJP saved its government with the support of Independent MLAs.
In the Lok Sabha elections held a few months ago, the BJP and the Congress won five seats each in Haryana. Talking about her life's journey, Selja said life's trajectory is full of ups and downs. "Coming from a political family gave me the first break. After that, I really had to claw my way up. I started out very early but not in very happy circumstances because my father had passed away and a byelection came up and he was the sitting MP from Sirsa, Haryana," she said.
"Rajiv ji asked me to contest. We did and at that time the whole environment was against the Congress It was an experience which helped me greatly because I feel adversity always strengthens you," she further said and added that she eventually went on to win in 1991 with the highest margin in Haryana.
