Haryana Election: Hooda, Selja or Surjewala - Who will be CM if exit poll results hold true?

Haryana election results are scheduled to be declared on Tuesday, October 8.

With the exit poll results for the Haryana Assembly elections held on Saturday (October 5) predicting a definite edge for the Congress party has resulted in a flurry of activity ahead of the final results on Tuesday.

Exit polls released Saturday evening unanimously predicted a victory for the Congress, projecting 50-55 seats for the party and 20-25 seats for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Haryana Assembly has 90 seats and the majority mark is 46.

The exit poll predictions, if proven true, would come as a huge shot in the arm for the Congress which had found itself struggling on the national level since Narendra Modi’s ascent as the Prime Minister of India a decade ago. A win in Haryana, a key Hindi heartland state, in a direct fight with the BJP, after better-than-expected results in the Lok Sabha elections, will boost the morale of the party as well as the Opposition as a whole.

Also Read: Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana assembly election results date and time

Congress’ problem of plenty

Yet, a victory, though welcome, is expected to leave the Congress in a bind. The party’s state unit, already ridden with infighting between different factions, will also have a problem of plenty as the high command sits down to decide on the key question of chief ministership.

While Bhupinder Singh Hooda remains the top claimant and a natural choice for the party, having led the state as CM from 2005 to 2014, the party’s decade-long hiatus from power has led to the emergence of other strong claimants as well. Kumari Selja, a Lok Sabha MP and a Dalit face who has also served as the president of the Haryana Congress, is also a leader in contention.

Also Read: 'In race for CM post but...': Kumari Selja on staking claim for Haryana CM post

National spokesperson and a key leader of the Haryana Congress, Randeep Surjewala is also being seen as among the top contenders for the post of Chief Minister.

Bhupinder Hooda camps in Delhi

Hooda left for Delhi on Sunday where he is expected to stay till after the election results are declared. While the Congress remains tight-lipped over the visit, Hooda may use the opportunity to meet senior leaders of the party and strengthen his claim to the CM’s chair.

Asked who would be chief minister if the Congress wins the elections, Hooda, whose remark that he “isn’t retired yet” was seen as staking claim to the top post ahead of elections, maintains that the Congress party will form the government. “It will be the party high command that will decide who will be the chief minister,” Hooda, 77, says.

Kumari Selja, the Sirsa MP in Lok Sabha, and another claimant to the top post, is known for her proximity to the Gandhis. Speaking to the media, Selja said that she is a loyal soldier of the Congress and will always remain with the party. “The Congress cannot rule out my vast experience and my unquestionable loyalty towards the party. Everybody knows the decision about who will be the Congress CM is always taken by the party high command,” the 62-year-old said.

Seen as the dark horse in the race, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala has stuck to a cautious line. A key voice of the party on several crucial issues, Surjewala maintained on Saturday that the leadership’s word will be final.

“Having the CM ambition is not wrong. We will accept the decision taken by Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for CM face”. Surjewala, 57, said.