Bhupinder Singh Hooda

Rao's legacy at stake in south Haryana ahead of Assembly elections

BJP has dominated the politically crucial region since 2014 but the going appears tough this time

Haryana polls: Will Bhupinder Hooda run for CM post or pass baton to son?

Haryana Assembly Elections: Former CM Bhupinder Hooda is aiming for a comeback if Congress wins. He will contest the polls from his home constituency of Garhi Sampla-Kiloi

BJP govt to be out; criminals, drug smugglers should exit Haryana: Hooda

Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda Sunday claimed the BJP government in Haryana is on its way out and criminals and drug smugglers should leave the state before the Assembly poll results are declared or they have to face the heat. Campaigning for Congress candidates in the four assembly seats of Sirsa district, he expressed concern over the drug menace and said, "Today, more deaths are taking place in Haryana due to drugs than in Punjab." The Congress government will end this scourge, the former Haryana chief minister said and also hit out at the BJP government over alleged deteriorating law-and-order situation. Claiming the BJP was on its way out, Hooda said criminals and drug smugglers should leave the state before October 8, the day of election results. The senior Congress leader claimed that the "hidden" alliance of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) with the BJP has now become public. "Fearing defeat, the BJP has .

Hooda, Phogat, Dhankar, others file nominations for Haryana Assembly polls

Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda filed his nomination for the Haryana Assembly polls from his traditional stronghold Garhi Sampla Kiloi seat in Rohtak on Wednesday and sought people's support in ousting the BJP from power in the "do or die battle". Another Congress candidate and wrestler Vinesh Phogat, a political greenhorn, filed her nomination papers from the Julana seat. Besides them, Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, former state home minister Anil Vij, BJP leader O P Dhankar, Congress' Brijendra Singh and the AAP's Anurag Dhanda were among other candidates who filed their nominations on Wednesday. Thursday is the last day of filing of nominations. Voting for the 90-member Haryana assembly will be held on October 5 and votes will be counted on October 8. Bhupinder Hooda, a former chief minister, was accompanied by his wife Asha Hooda, son Deepender Hooda and daughter-in-law Sweta Hooda during nomination filing. A "havan" was performed before Hooda filed his papers. On th

Haryana Assembly elections: AAP releases third list of 11 candidates

Haryana election 2024: Haryana's elections are on October 5, vote counting on October 8; nominations close on September 12, scrutiny on September 13, and the withdrawal deadline is September 16

Haryana polls: Congress releases 1st list, fields Vinesh Phogat from Julana

Haryana Assembly elections: Congress announced its first list of 31 candidates and has fielded Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency

Haryana polls: Cong releases first list; fields Vinesh Phogat from Julana

The Congress on Friday released its first list of 31 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, fielding former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal and wrestler Vinesh Phogat from Julana. The list was released after the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress met here, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria and Hooda, among others, attending the meeting. Besides Hooda, Bhan and Phogat, the Congress has fielded Mewa Singh from Ladwa to take on Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. The party has also fielded Surender Panwar from Sonipat, Bharat Bhushan Batra from Rohtak, Kuldeep Vats from Badli, Chiranjeev Rao from Revari and Neeraj Sharma from Faridabad NIT. Earlier, on the possibility of any MP contesting the polls, Babaria said after the CEC ..

Congress' CEC clears 34 names of candidates for Haryana Assembly polls

The Congress' Central Election Committee met here on Monday and finalised the names of 34 candidates for the assembly polls in Haryana. The AICC's Haryana in-charge Depak Babaria said a final list would be released together by Wednesday. He also said the speculation surrounding Vinesh Phogat would also be laid to rest by Tuesday. "Today, a meeting was held for Haryana by the Central Election Committee (CEC). A list of 49 names was presented by the state's screening committee, out of which 34 have been approved and 15 are pending," Babaria said. "Names of 22 (sitting) MLAs have also been cleared. The meeting will continue tomorrow (Tuesday) and hopefully the final list will be announced the day after tomorrow," he said. Babaria said some names had been sent to the review committee and a call would be taken on those on Tuesday by the panel, which includes the Congress' Haryana unit chief and the legislature party leader. Babaria said the criteria for candidature was based on winnab

Cong shakes up Haryana strategy: Sitting MPs won't contest assembly polls

Haryana elections 2024: The decision has been reportedly taken to calm down internal differences between groups of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Lok Sabha MP from Sirsa, Kumari Selja

Congress capable of winning on its own in Haryana: Bhupinder Hooda

The Congress is capable of winning the Haryana assembly polls on its own and no talks have been held with any party for an alliance yet, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said, indicating that his party may not have a tie-up with the AAP in the upcoming elections. In an interview with PTI, Hooda also stressed that winnability would be the criteria for ticket distribution for the assembly polls. Asked if there is a possibility of a tie-up with its INDIA bloc partner Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the state elections, the senior Congress leader said, "We have an alliance at the national level (with the AAP) but as far as state level is concerned, no talks have been held with any party." "The Congress is capable (to win) on its own. No talks have been held yet," the two-time chief minister said. On Tuesday, when asked about alliances especially in states such as Haryana, Congress general secretary, in-charge organisation, K C Venugopal had said, "We have already ...

Vinesh deserves the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana: Ex-CM BS Hooda

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that if he had the majority, he would have allocated the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana to wrestler, Vinesh Phogat

Can Congress be third-time lucky in upcoming Haryana Assembly polls?

Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party is outvoted by NOTA as Congress secures five Lok Sabha seats. ARCHIS MOHAN writes

BJP failed to tackle issues like inflation, unemployment: Bhupinder Hooda

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday said that farmers' plight, Agnipath, unemployment, law and order, and inflation were key issues which the ruling BJP failed to address. As the Congress appeared set to wrest five Lok Sabha seats from the ruling BJP in Haryana, Hooda said that he had been saying "there is a wave blowing in favour of the Congress". "You asked me about exit polls predicting most seats to the BJP, to which I said wait for the actual poll results on June 4," the Congress veteran said. Haryana is known for "jai jawan, jai kisan, jai pehalwan". "But what did they (BJP) do. They brought Agniveer (Agnipath scheme), which faced opposition from the youth. They did not redress farmers' issues. And everyone knows the treatment that was meted to our wrestler daughters, who had to protest (at Delhi's Jantar Mantar)," he said. Hooda said that unemployment increased in the state during the BJP rule while the law and order situation also deteriorated. H

Lok Sabha results: Trends indicate a strong hand for Congress in Haryana

Congress' Varun Chaudhry is leading in Ambala, Kumari Selja in Sirsa, Jai Parkash in Hisar, Satpal Brahmchari in Sonipat, Deepender Singh Hooda in Rohtak and Raj Babbar in Gurgaon

Cong aims to turn 3.2 mn unemployed into govt employees within year: Hooda

The Congress aims to turn 32 lakh unemployed people into government employees within a year, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Saturday. Hooda, who campaigned for the Congress' Faridabad candidate Mahendra Pratap Singh, also said the people of Haryana have made up their mind to shatter the BJP's "arrogance". All communities are going to vote unanimously for the Congress to protect the country's Constitution and democracy, he said. After a victory in the Lok Sabha elections, it is certain that a Congress government will also be formed in Haryana, the former chief minister said. "A Congress government will not allow unemployment and criminals to remain in Haryana. The Congress' guarantee is to provide (legal) guarantee for minimum support prices for crops, Rs 6,000 as pensions to the elderly, fill 30 lakh vacant posts in the Centre and two lakh vacant posts in Haryana," he said. Hooda, the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, also said, "For the la

Lok Sabha polls: Congress set for clean sweep in Haryana, says Hooda

Congress veteran Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said people are looking at his party with great hope and it is set for a clean sweep in Haryana in the Lok Sabha elections. The former chief minister said the Congress is receiving overwhelming public support. Voting for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana will be held in the sixth round of the seven-phase elections on May 25. While the Congress is contesting nine seats, its INDIA bloc ally AAP has fielded its candidate from the Kurukshetra constituency. "People are looking at the Congress with great hope and there is a wave in our favour," Hooda said, exuding confidence that his party and its ally AAP will win all the 10 seats in Haryana. He also exuded confidence that the INDIA bloc will form the next government at the Centre. Targeting the BJP dispensation in Haryana, the leader of opposition in the Haryana Assembly said it is a "non-performing government" and "every section is fed up with it". On the BJP replacing Manohar Lal

Will not fight LS polls, son Deepender likely to contest: Bhupinder Hooda

Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of him contesting the Lok Sabha elections and said a discussion was on within the party about fielding his son Deepender Singh Hooda from the Rohtak seat. "There is no intention that both of us will fight. I am also the Leader of the Opposition (in Haryana) and the Assembly polls are nearing. So I don't have any intention (to fight the parliamentary election)," the former Haryana chief minister told reporters in Rohtak. Replying to a question, the senior Congress leader said discussion is on within the party about fielding Deepender Singh Hooda from the Rohtak parliamentary seat. He said that he does not have any intention to fight the Lok Sabha polls when Deepender enters the fray. The final decision on the matter will be taken by the party, he added. Bhupinder Singh Hooda said if senior party leaders, Randeep Singh Surjewala or Kumari Selja, decide to fight the Lok Sabha polls "we will be happy". Notably,

Failed budget of a failed government in Haryana: Bhupinder Singh Hooda

Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday dubbed the Haryana budget, presented in the Assembly by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, as a "failed budget of a failed government". There is nothing much in the budget and it has disappointed every section of the society, Hooda, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said. Khattar on Friday announced waiver of interest and penalty on certain crop loans and did not hike taxes as he presented a Rs 1.89 lakh crore budget for the 2024-25 financial year. Criticising the government over the budget, Hooda said, "Everyone in the state will have debt on their head, responsibility will be only with the people, all employment will become private." "The public was hopeful that since it was an election budget, at least in the announcement, people would get some relief this time from inflation, unemployment, exorbitant taxes and economic recession. But the government dashed the public's expectations," he said. He said the BJP-JJP coalition

Amid ongoing protest, govt should hold talks with protesting farmers: Hooda

Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said the Centre should immediately hold talks with the protesting farmers to resolve their issues, terming the prevailing situation arising out of the stir as "worrisome". The former chief minister also appealed to the farmers to maintain peace. "The situation which prevails is worrisome. The government should immediately hold talks with farmers and resolve the issue," Hooda, who is Leader of the Opposition in Haryana, told reporters here on the sidelines of the ongoing Budget session of the state assembly. Farmers leaders on Wednesday put the 'Delhi Chalo' march on hold for two days after a protester was killed and about 12 police personnel injured in clashes at Khanauri, one of the two protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border. Thousands of farmers will remain camped at the two border points during the pause in the agitation over their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm debt ..

CBI files charge sheet against Bhupinder Hooda's former principal secy

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against retired IAS officer Murari Lal Tayal, who was the principal secretary of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for allegedly amassing assets worth Rs 14 crore which were disproportionate to his known sources of income, officials said on Friday. In its charge sheet filed before the Panchkula Special Court on Thursday, the CBI alleged that Tayal, his wife Savita and son Kartik acquired assets worth Rs 14.06 crore during 2006-14 which were 81.11 per cent above their legitimate sources of income, they said. The agency filed its report after more than six years of probe against Tayal, a 1976-batch IAS officer who was Hooda's principal secretary during 2005-2009. The CBI had registered an FIR against Tayal, his Savita Tayal and other family members in 2017 for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets. The FIR was based on the findings of the agency in Manesar land scam case in which Tayal was also under scanner. After retirement i