‘Loss’ to ‘no difference’, Haryana Congress divided over Kiran’s BJP switch

Haryana Congress divided over Kiran Choudhry's switch to BJP, highlighting internal conflicts and political allegiances in the state.

Infighting within the Haryana Congress once again came to the fore on Wednesday with rival factions in the party’s State unit expressing conflicting views on former Haryana Cabinet Minister Kiran Choudhry and her daughter Shruti, a former MP, quitting the party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

While Congress’ Sirsa MP Kumari Selja, talking to a local news channel, described Ms. Choudhry’s move a “loss to the party”, adding that she did not get justice and the circumstances leading to her resignation were “unfortunate”, the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Udai Bhan, considered close to two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said her resignation would make no difference. He said Ms. Choudhry always had an understanding with the BJP and had betrayed the Congress.

Mr. Bhan said the party made her the leader of the legislative party and a Minister, but when her daughter did not get a Lok Sabha ticket, Ms. Choudhry said the Congress had no future in Haryana. “It shows that it was not about ideology,” said Mr. Bhan.

Ms. Choudhry, while being in the Congress, was considered to represent anti-Hooda camp along with Ms. Selja and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala, called the ‘SRK group’ in the local media. She was upset over the denial of a Lok Sabha ticket to her daughter and has alleged that she was “humiliated”.

Joining the BJP at the party’s New Delhi office, Ms. Choudhry, who had resigned from the Congress’ primary membership along with her daughter on June 18, said she took the decision inspired by the BJP leadership and the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a developed country by 2047.

Calling Union Power Minister Manohar Lal her ‘elder brother’, Ms. Choudhry said he is a “source of inspiration” for her. Mr. Lal, welcoming her to the party, said he had believed that though Ms. Choudhry was in the Congress, her “heart” was with the BJP for long.