Hooda loyalist authorise him to decide future course of action

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday held discussions with his supporters, who authorised him to take a final decision on the future course of action with regard to the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

Hooda had put his party on notice after he declared at his 'Maha Privartan Rally' rally on August 18 at Rohtak that it had "lost direction".

He had later announced a 36-member committee to decide the future course of action.

The members of the committee met here at his residence and authorised Hooda to take a final call on the future course of action.

The Hooda faction has been demanding a change in the Haryana Congress leadership ahead of the assembly polls in October this year.

Sources said Hooda first held common discussions with members of the panel and then met the leaders individually.

"I have held extensive discussions with the leaders and have heard their views. They have authorised me to take a final decision on the leadership issue. A final call will be taken soon," Hooda told PTI.

Hooda and his supporters are demanding that Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar be replaced.

Sources said his supporters wanted Hooda to be installed as the new Congress chief in Haryana, but the party leadership was not inclined to do so and wanted to replace Tanwar with a Dalit and Rajya Sabha MP, Selja.

The former chief minister and his loyalists, which include 13 sitting Congress MLAs and some ex-MPs, were part of the 36-member panel announced by Hooda.

During his rally in Rohtak, Hooda had given a warning to the Congress Party for a leadership change, while supporting the Modi government's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution.

It is speculated that Hooda may be working towards quitting the party, but after he did not announce any such decision at the August 18 Rohtak rally, he may not form another party as there is no time left.

His supporters feel that he should decide the next step immediately as there is no time left.

Hooda had recently met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and held detailed discussions with her.

AICC general secretary in-charge for Haryana Ghulam Nabi Azad has also held discussions with the Congress leadership and do not want any split in the party ahead of the elections.

The party leadership wants to end factionalism in the party in poll-bound Haryana, where it is seeking to wrest back power from the BJP.

In the 2014 assembly polls, the BJP had won 47 seats and went on to form its government.

The Congress could only win 15 seats. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) had 19 legislators. Since then, the INLD has split into two factions.