Haryana Congress splits into two factions, all eyes now on meeting with Rahul

Following Congress' crushing defeat in the recently held Lok Sabha polls, Haryana which is going into Assembly elections later this year is also facing trouble, with the party splitting into two factions.

The two factions support former state Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and current Haryana Pradesh Congress President, Ashok Tanwar respectively.

The primary bone of contention seems to be the post now occupied by Tanwar, with the faction supporting Hooda wanting it for themselves.

According to sources, Hooda is also apparently upset with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for not making a decision in his favour on the state president post.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to hold a meeting with Haryana Congress on June 27. The state in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad, Hooda, Kumari Sheilja and Kiran Chowdhry will be present in the meeting in the presence of Tanwar.

The sources added that Hooda and Tanwar factions were trying their best to get the tickets for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.

However, Tanwar refuted reports claiming that Hooda is unhappy with the party. "All this is misinformation, everything is fine in the Congress. The party is united. In future, the party will be seen working untidily against the challenges," Tanwar told ANI.

The internal bickering, which had been brewing within the party for long, came out in the open in the Congress war room when Tanwar had a verbal spat with senior leaders after MLA Jaitirath Dahiya wrote to Rahul Gandhi against him.

Trouble turned intense in the Congress's Haryana unit due to the debacle in general elections where the party failed to win a single seat out of a total of 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

Haryana, where 90-Assembly seats are at stake, is scheduled to go to polls in October this year.