Where has Congress gone — Ahmed Patel asks Hooda in viral video ahead of Haryana polls

In the video, Congress MP Ahmed Patel looks agitated during conversation with Ghulam Nabi Azad & Bhupinder Singh Hooda over Haryana ticket distribution.

File image of Congress MP Ahmed Patel | Facebook

New Delhi: There seems to be no end to Congress’ woes in Haryana, with ticket distribution for the assembly elections — scheduled later this month — becoming the latest bone of contention within the party.

On Wednesday, a video of Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi’s aide Ahmed Patel surfaced, in which he appeared agitated over the ticket-allocation process. This came on a day former Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar and his supporters protested outside Gandhi’s residence in Delhi, alleging that tickets were being sold.

The 38-second video shows Patel in a tense conversation with Haryana in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is in charge of ticket distribution as a member of the party’s screening committee. The six-member committee is tasked with shortlisting candidates for the elections.

“Surjewala ko kitni di (How many have you given to Surjewala),” Patel asks in the video. Randeep Singh Surjewala is the party’s chief spokesperson and a sitting MLA from Kaithal.

To this, Hooda responds that he has been given four.

While there is no clarity about what Hooda is referring to, leaders in Haryana say the four seats that are being discussed in the video have been given to Surjewala’s supporters. 

Patel, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, is then seen doing calculation, following which he says with four given to Surjewala, it makes a total of 12.

It is not clear how he added up the numbers.

Azad then intervenes to say Surjewala has been presumably allocated six.

“That makes 14,” says Patel, and then asks: “Party gayi kahan (Where has the party gone)?”. The two other senior leaders were seen stuttering trying to find an answer.

The video ends with Patel berating photographers, asking them not to click any more pictures.

Congress had not officially responded to the video till the time of publishing this report. 

A turbulent ticket allocation

Sources told ThePrint that the video is reflective of the discontent and resentment among senior Haryana Congress leaders over the ticket distribution process. They added the Congress top leadership is aware that the Haryana unit is riddled with infighting and factionalism, which is deteriorating further. 

“Kiran Choudhry (former Congress Legislative Party chief) met Patel earlier in the day (Wednesday) to complain about ticket distribution,” said a Haryana Congress leader, who did not wish to be named. 

“Patel also met Tanwar and Hooda, individually,” the leader added.

The leader said that Tanwar Wednesday met Madhusudan Mistry — considered a confidante of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi — who is heading the screening committee.

Tanwar later held a protest and alleged that the Congress was selling election tickets and seeking Rs 5 crore for the Sohna assembly seat. 

“(Ghulam Nabi) Azad apparently reached an understanding with Imran Masood (UP Congress leader) and decided to allocate the (Sohna) seat to a businessman from the area. This is what has become a bone of contention,” said a second Haryana leader on condition of anonymity.

The leader said the party delaying the candidate list, which was expected to be declared Wednesday, is a sign that the demands of disgruntled leaders may be accommodated. 

“Perhaps Surjewala will get a few more seats, so will Tanwar’s supporters and Choudhry,” said the second Haryana Congress leader. 

Past Wednesday midnight, the Congress released the first list of candidates for the elections scheduled to be held in Haryana and Maharashtra on 21 October. It released a list of 84 candidates for Haryana and 20 for Maharashtra. 

The BJP had already released the names of candidates for 64 out of the 90 seats in Haryana.