New Delhi, October 25
When Congress leaders consulted Haryana MPs yesterday on the choice of the next chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s detractors made a strong plea for denying him a second term on the plea that he should be held accountable for bringing down the party’s tally from 67 to 40 seats.

As it happens, the party’s narrow win worked in Hooda’s favour as the Congress leadership felt it needed a strong person like him at the helm to be able to take on a resurgent INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala and contain the independent legislators whose support is crucial for the survival of the new government as the Congress is six short of the halfway mark in the 90-member assembly.

The leadership was clearly impressed with Hooda’s swift operation in securing the support of the seven independent MLAs the same evening the election results were declared.

Faced with a dilemma over over choosing a Jat or a non-Jat as the next chief minister, the Congress leadership eventually decided to opt for a Jat on the grounds that with INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala on a comeback trail, the party could ill-afford to dump Hooda as it would further alienate the powerful Jat community whose backing is important in governing Haryana.

Congress sources said the Chautala factor proved critical in Hooda’s selection as the next chief minister. The general assessment was that after his creditable performance in the elections, the INLD chief will not rest pretty and will prove to be a tough opponent, even resorting to strong-arm tactics. “A non-Jat would not have been able to deal with such a situation...you need somebody from the Jat community to handle Chautala,” remarked a senior Congress leader.

While Hooda’s opponents launched a relentless campaign against him soon after the election results were announced, dislodging him was always an uphill task as he enjoys strong support in the AICC, including that of Ahmed Patel, the Congress president’s political secretary, who batted for him.

Congress leaders were at pains to explain that they always had an open mind on the leadership issue and had seriously considered replacing Hooda with Union Culture Minister and Ambala MP Selja. As a first Dalit chief minister in Haryana, Selja’s appointment was considered highly symbolic as it would sent a positive message not just in Haryana but also outside the state. However, other factors outweighed these considerations.

While Hooda has been pulled up by the Congress leadership for his dictatorial style of functioning, his detractors will not escape censure either following preliminary reports of internal sabotage in the elections, following Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s announcement that Hooda will get a second term. Although AICC incharge of Haryana, Prithviraj Chavan is still to analyse the reasons for the party’s below par performance, initial reports suggest “Hooda’s overconfidence” and bitter infighting as two major factors.