Haryana Assembly elections: Hooda leaves for Delhi ahead of counting

Ahead of Haryana poll results on October 7, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, a frontrunner for the chief minister's post, on Sunday left for Delhi where he is likely to meet party leadership.

The Congress veteran and former chief minister Hooda will have his night stay at his Delhi residence, sources said.

He is likely to meet the party's senior leadership before he returns to his Rohtak residence Monday afternoon, they said.

An aide of Hooda said that he left for Delhi from Rohtak residence in the evening.

Asked who would be the chief minister if the Congress comes to power, Hooda had Saturday reiterated that there is a laid down procedure in the party, according to which "the opinion of the MLAs will be sought and the high command will decide".

About party leaders Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala also reportedly being aspirants for the chief minister's post, last evening Hooda told reporters that one can have aspirations in politics but there is a procedure.

Voting for the Haryana Assembly polls ended on Saturday evening and the results would be declared on Tuesday. Haryana recorded a voting percentage of 67.90.

Several exit polls have predicted a clear majority for the Congress in the state where the BJP ruled for two consecutive terms.

"We are forming the government with a comfortable majority," Hooda (77), had earlier told reporters at his Rohtak residence.

Earlier, senior Congress leader and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja, who is considered as Hooda's bete noire, had met her party's leadership in Delhi on Thursday, the last day of campaigning for the Haryana Assembly election.

The meeting had amid reports that she was "upset" over the party's affairs in Haryana.

Selja stayed away from the party's poll campaign in the state for the last few days and has been concentrating on her Sirsa Lok Sabha constituency.

Last month, there were reports that Selja was disgruntled over ticket distribution for the Haryana Assembly polls, with most of Hooda loyalists being rewarded.