ChandigarhSeptember 14, 2025 10:00 AM IST
First published on: Sep 14, 2025 at 10:00 AM IST
THE 2024 Haryana Assembly elections handed a shock defeat to the Congress, which was expected to surge past the incumbent BJP, which had been in power for a decade. The BJP won 48 of the state’s 90 seats as against the Congress’s 37. In an interview with The Indian Express, senior Congress leader and ex-chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda spoke on a range of issues, including the party’s poll debacle, its current state of affairs and the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government’s handling of floods. Excerpts:
The 2024 Haryana Assembly poll results had belied your expectations. What had gone wrong?
If you look at the vote share, both BJP (39.94%) and Congress (39.09%) were nearly neck and neck — there was barely a half-percentage difference. But if you examine the trends from the last five Assembly elections, the party that led in postal ballots ended up forming the government. In 2024, we were ahead in postal ballot counting in 76 out of 90 constituencies. Yet, we lost the final battle when the EVM votes were counted. There are multiple reasons for this, including the issue of vote chori (vote theft) as raised by Rahul Gandhi, which points to possible irregularities. Haryana was not immune to this. Consider the ration cards: in 2020–21, there were around 11 lakh cards for 52 lakh beneficiaries of social welfare schemes. Just before the elections, that number ballooned to 52 lakh cards covering 2.13 crore people. But after the polls, the BJP government slashed a large number of these cards. That raises serious questions.
How do you plan to address these issues in future elections?
Between the 2019 and 2024 Assembly polls, we increased our vote share by 12%. That is no small feat — it clearly shows that public sentiment was in our favour.
The Congress recently appointed district committee (DCC) presidents across Haryana, many of whom are from non-Jat communities. Was this a strategic move?
The Congress is a party for everyone — the poor, labourers, farmers, small traders, and shopkeepers. We have given representation to all communities, whether they are large or small.
It has been nearly one year since the 2024 elections, yet the Congress has not appointed a Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly. What explains the delay?
Senior Congress leader Rahul (Gandhi) ji has already made it clear that the (LoP’s) appointment will follow the selection of district committee presidents and the state committee (PCC) office-bearers. As far as the MLAs are concerned, they have already passed a resolution and left the decision to the party high command. Our party functions like a family. There may be differences, but our minds remain united.
What is your assessment of the recent Haryana floods?
In Yamunanagar, it was evident that the floods were man-made, not natural. The Yamuna river changed its course, and even the High Court and Supreme Court have taken note of this. In Meham, I saw kikar trees growing in the drains due to lack of cleaning. In urban areas, the sewage systems were not maintained. Over 5,000 villages and 11 cities in Haryana were affected by floods or waterlogging.
What is your take on the government’s handling of floods?
Back in 1995, when floods hit Haryana, the government immediately assessed crop losses and provided cash compensation — not just to farmers but also to shopkeepers and the poor. Today, the BJP government asks villagers to upload their losses on a web portal. I find that absurd. When farmers burn crop residue, officials claim satellites detect the smoke. If satellites can catch smoke, why cannot they detect floodwaters? It is clear the government wants to delay relief. The compensation offered — Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000 per acre — is inadequate. That is barely enough to cover fertiliser costs. Moreover, insurance companies do not compensate for crop losses due to waterlogging. These companies are profit-driven: they collect high premiums and pay out little. The Congress has already resolved that if voted to power, crop insurance will be handled by government corporations like LIC.
How do you view CM Saini’s frequent visits to Punjab ahead of 2027 polls?
He (Saini) has nothing to showcase in terms of achievements in Haryana, which is why he is turning to Punjab. But what will he say there? Will he demand Haryana’s rightful share of water? Why is he not asking Punjab about the digging of the SYL canal? Why is there silence on implementing the Supreme Court’s order regarding the canal?