Saturday October 24, 2009, 2:57 am
Most of the newly-elected Congress legislators, who met at the first post-poll meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Chandigarh, want the incumbent Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, to continue in office.

The legislators, who individually met Congress leaders, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, Ms Mohsina Kidwai and Mr B.K. Hari Prasad, the three AICC observers deputed by Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, are believed to have individually pressed for Mr Hooda during the three-hour meeting at the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on Friday evening.

“The legislators have conveyed their feelings to us and have all asked Mrs Gandhi to name the new Chief Minister,” Mr Chavan told reporters after the marathon meeting.

Meanwhile, highly placed sources told this newspaper that “the high command has decided to go with Mr Hooda, who is not only responsible for the historic return of the Congress (no party has retained power in Haryana since 1972) but also has the confidence of the new MLAs”.

“I am fully behind Hooda sahib and I believe each of the other elected MLAs have articulated identical sentiments,” said Mr Yashvir Kadyan, the Speaker of the outgoing Assembly. Each of the 40 Congress MLAs were separately called in to “freely express their views” during the late evening exercise.

Earlier on Friday, PCC chief, Mr Phul Chand Mulana met the Haryana Governor, Mr Jagannath Pahadia, to stake claim to form the new government after emerging the single largest party.

Mr Mulana also carried with him and conveyed signed letters from seven Independent legislators expressing their support for the Congress.

“These are all people who are in sync with the Congress party’s ideology and have freely decided to go with us,” Mr Mulana said, refuting former chief minister and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala’s allegation that “the Congress was indulging in horse-trading to garner numbers”.

Moments before the state Congress chief arrived at the Haryana Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh, Mr Chautala also staked claim to form the new government. “The popular mandate is clearly against the ruling Congress . Opposition groups have won more than 50 seats,” he said in a letter demanding that governor Pahadia “must first invite the Opposition to form a coalition government”.

Meanwhile, in New Delhi, a decision on electing a new Congress Legislature Party leader in Maharashtra is unlikely to be taken on Saturday due to party pressures. “A CLP leader in Haryana could be announced tomorrow (Saturday) but a decision on the Maharashtra CLP leader would be delayed,” authoritative sources in the Congress said here Friday night.

Saturday October 24, 2009, 3:03 am
Seven Independent MLAs in Haryana on Friday extended "unconditional support" to the Congress, helping the party get just enough numbers to form the next government in the state.

The MLAs met Governor Jagannath Pahadia and submitted a letter extending "unconditional support" to the Congress, said Randeep Surjewala, senior Congress leader.

With the MLAs' support secured, incumbent Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said he was sure to have a second successive term.

"Seven independent MLAs are backing us. The governor has been told the Congress has the numbers and is ready to form the next government," said Hooda, whose party got 40 seats in the 90-member assembly.

The MLAs backing the Congress are Shiv Charan Lal Sharma, Prahlad Singh, Sukhbir, Jaleb Khan, O.P. Jain, Sultan and Gopal Kanda.

"We support Congress as we have full faith in its policies. Hooda has done a lot of work for the state," said Independent MLA Prahlad Singh.

Buoyed by his impressive performance of 31 seats, INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala too had thrown his hat in the ring. "I told the governor that the Opposition should be invited to form the government," Chautala said.

Claims and counter-claims aside, the man could emerge kingmaker is Kuldeep Bishnoi of the Haryana Janhit Congress. With six seats, Bishnoi, son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal, is being wooed both by the Congress and the INLD.

"We are getting feelers from both the camps. We will decide keeping the interests of the people in mind," Bishnoi said.

But Bishnoi is likely to extend conditional support and is apparently asking too high a price - both the deputy chief minister's post and a change of chief minister.

Within the Congress too, Hooda's baiters are campaigning for his replacement. Union minister Kumari Selja and Kiran Chaudhary, daughter-in-law of former chief minister Bansi Lal, met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi during the day. Randeep Surjewala too is eyeing the post of chief minister.

Haryana CLP authorizes Sonia to elect leader, Suspense mounts

The newly elected Congress MLAs authorized party president Sonia Gandhi to name the leader of its Legislature Party.

A decision to authorise Sonia to decide on the leader of the CLP was taken "unanimously" at a meeting the three AICC observers--Prithvi Raj Chavan, Mohsina Kidwai and B K Hariparsad-- had with all the 40 MLAs separately.

The meeting unanimously passed a resolution authorizing Gandhi to name the CLP leader, Chavan told reporters.

He said they had met all the MLAs and would report to the party chief in New Delhi. The observers first had a meeting with Hooda and Mullana.

"We will meet Sonia Gandhi and apprise her of the situation and the deliberations that we had with the legislators," Chavan added.

Among other strong contenders for the CM's post are union minister Selja and party MLA Kiran Chaudhary.