No wish to contest LS polls, but ready to fight from anywhere if party wants: Bhupinder Hooda

Amid speculations that he could contest from Sonipat, senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday said he does not wish to contest the 2019 parliamentary polls, but was ready to fight from anywhere in the state if his party wants.

The two-time chief minister said he will not hesitate to take on Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in case the BJP leader, who is a legislator from Karnal, decides to fight the Lok Sabha polls.

"I do not wish to contest the Lok Sabha polls, but I am a disciplined solider of my party. My party is my priority. I will abide by whatever it says," Bhupinder Hooda said.

When asked if he could contest from the Sonipat parliamentary seat, the former CM replied, "I have said that I will go by whatever my party says. I can contest from anywhere (on any LS seat) in the state if they say so".

"I am confident that Congress will win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats," he said, adding the party will decide on the nominees from the state within a week.

Voting will be held in Haryana in the sixth round of seven-phase Lok Sabha polls on May 12. Results will be announced on May 23.

Bhupinder Hooda attacked Khattar over his allegations that Congress MP from Rohtak Deepender Singh Hooda had amassed assets manifold after becoming an MP.

Defending the lawmaker, who is his son, Bhupinder Hooda dubbed Khattar's allegations baseless.

On some BJP leaders claiming that Deepender became a MP because his father was the chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda retorted, "When I was elected as MP four times from Rohtak, my father was not a chief minister. When I defeated (late deputy prime minister) Devi Lal from Rohtak, my father was not a CM. They (BJP) have nothing to show for performance, which is why they keep raising baseless things".

Deepender Hooda was the sole Congress leader to win a seat in the state in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He holds the Rohtak parliamentary constituency -- a traditional stronghold of the Hooda family.

The BJP had won seven seats and the Indian National Lok Dal bagged the remaining two in the 2014 LS polls.

Terming NYAY, a minimum income guarantee scheme, a "game changer", Bhupinder Hooda said that his party has always batted for protecting interests of poor, down trodden, Dalits and other weaker sections.

Dubbing the BJP government in Haryana "name changer", Hooda said only thing which goes to their credit is changing names of schemes started during previous Congress regime.

He alleged that the Khattar government was "thoroughly corrupt" and was only "wearing a mask of honesty".

"People want to see Congress back in power. All sections of society gave an enthusiastic support to the yatra, showing their disappointment with the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state," he said, adding all the party senior leaders from the state were united and there was no factionalism.