'Everyone wants to be CM ’: Surjewala on Selja, Hooda and his own aspirations

Randeep Surjewala’s son and the Congress Kaithal candidate Aditya has also said he would like his father to be the next chief minister of Haryana.

Amid reports of discord in the Congress in Haryana, the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Randeep  Surjewala said everyone aspires to become the chief minister. The Haryana assembly election will be held on October 5 and votes will be counted on October 8.

His comments came after rumours of a rift in the Haryana unit of the Congress gained traction after Kumari Selja was not seen during the party's manifesto launch event by national president Mallikarjun Kharge. According to reports, she was sulking and opted to not campaign for the Haryana polls because she was not allowed to contest. However, Selja is set to join the Congress campaign in Haryana from September 26. The decision was taken after the AICC general secretary met Kharge on Sunday.

Surjewala’s son and the party’s Kaithal candidate Aditya has also said he would like his father to be the next chief minister of Haryana.

“Who will become the CM? Everyone aspires to become a chief minister,” Surjewala told Indian Express in Kaithal. “(Sirsa MP Kumari) Selja ji also wants to be one, why not? She is my elder sister. Chaudhary Bhupinder Singh Hooda would also like to be the CM. Besides the three of us, some other party workers can also have this aspiration. But the final decision will be taken by Rahul Gandhi ji and Mallikarjun Kharge ji. They will decide and whatever decision they take will be acceptable to all of us.”

Till now, Hooda, Selja, and Surjewala have not been spotted on the same platform during the Haryana poll campaign. The three of them are expected to share the dais with Gandhi at then election rally in Barwala in Hisar district on Thursday.

Speaking about former CM Manohar Lal Khattar’s offers to Selja to join the BJP, Surjewala told IE, “I respect Manohar Lal Khattar ji because of his age, due to his stature, he is my elder. But Narendra Modi ji did not even bring Khattar ji to his Kurukshetra rally to avoid any vote cutting. I would like to suggest to Khattar ji that he should worry about his ministerial berth and see that he is not removed as the minister the same way he was removed as the CM.”

The Congress leader also rubbished reports of factionalism in the party’s Haryana unit. According to him, the entire Congress unit is working hard for the Haryana Assembly polls.  There is an immense wave in the party’s favour,” he told IE.