Selja to join Cong campaign, not BJP: Surjewala

Sirsa MP Kumari Selja will campaign for the Congress and address a public meeting in Narwana this week, party general secretary Randeep Surjewala said on Monday after the Bharatiya Janata Party targeted the grand old party over alleged infighting amid reports that she was sulking.

IMAGE: Congress MP Kumari Selja. Photograph: Shrikant Singh/ANI Photo

The 61-year-old Selja is a Congress general secretary and prominent Dalit face of the party.

With Haryana going to polls on October 5, the ruling BJP has been targeting the Congress over the Dalit leader staying away from the poll campaign.

Recently, Union minister and senior BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar had invited Selja to join the saffron party, amid reports that she was staying away from the campaign for the assembly polls.

Khattar, the former Haryana chief minister, had also pointed towards the alleged infighting in the state unit of Congress ahead of the assembly polls.

In a post on X, Surjewala said Selja will address a public meeting in Narwana on September 26 and will campaign for the Congress.

'Today, I will address 22 public meetings for Congress candidate Shri Satbir Dablain in Narwana. We will hoist the flag of Congress' victory in the entire district and Haryana.

'MP and elder sister Kumari Selja @Kumari_Selja will also address a public meeting in Narwana on 26th (September) at 12 noon and will campaign for the Congress. Under the leadership of Shri @RahulGandhi and Shri @kharge ji, Congress will fight, win and make the dreams of Haryana come true,' Surjewala posted in X on Hindi.

Surjewala's son Aditya is also contesting the polls and has been fielded by the Congress from Kaithal, a seat which Randeep Surjewala had earlier represented, but is currently held by BJP's Leela Ram.

Selja was learnt to be upset after the party gave a free hand to her bete noire and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in ticket distribution, with most candidates who got the tickets being loyalists of the two-time ex-CM.

Hooda's loyalists had also been accommodated on the majority of the 17 reserve (SC) seats.

Selja, a former Union Minister, enjoys a good support base in many districts including Sirsa, Ambala and Hisar.

Recently, many BJP leaders have been targeting the Congress over alleged disrespect being meted out to Selja, whose last campaign was in support of party candidates Shamsher Singh Gogi and Shalley Chaudhary on September 11.

Selja was also conspicuous by her absence at the event in Delhi where Congress released manifesto for the polls.

On Friday, while Khattar was addressing a gathering in Gharaunda in support of BJP nominee Harvinder Kalyan, he had said, "There is so much infighting there (in Haryana Congress) and there is no clarity about their chief ministerial face. There is a fight between the father and the son (Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Deepender Hooda). The father says he will become the CM while son says he will. Besides them, other leaders also have desire (for the CM post)".

"There is our Dalit sister - sitting at home. A large section of people are today thinking about what they should do. Many people were upset with them and we brought them into the party fold. We are ready with an offer and if (she) comes, we are ready to induct her," Khattar had said.

Last week, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had said that there was no dissidence in the Haryana Congress.

"My good friend (Kumari) Selja ji has not said a single word against Mr (Bhupinder Singh) Hooda, nor has Mr Hooda said a word against Ms Selja. So we are a united party. We will fight this election in a united manner," Chidambaram had said.