Chandigarh, Oct 26 (IANS) Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Monday summed up the Congress’ poor showing in the Oct 13 assembly poll by saying ‘…we have won the war but we have lost some battles’.
In his first interaction with the media after becoming chief minister for a second time Sunday, Hooda admitted that infighting within the Congress had cost the party dear.
‘There are people in the party who let us (Congress) down for saving their own existence,’ Hooda said without naming anyone.
The Congress Sunday became the only party in over three decades to return to power in Haryana after completing one full tenure.
However, the party, which won 40 assembly seats on its own and emerged as the single largest party in the house, had to seek support from all seven newly elected Independent candidates to cross the halfway mark in the 90-member house.
Hooda has been given time till Oct 31 by Governor Jagannath Pahadia to prove his majority on the floor of the house.
A one-day session of the newly-elected assembly has been called Wednesday (Oct 28) for the floor test.
Asked about Bhajan Lal-Kuldeep Bishnoi led Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) extending support to his government, Hooda stated: ‘Once they were part of Congress family and had left the party on their own. Now, if they come up with a proposal to support Congress unconditionally then we will welcome them.’
‘We have won fewer seats than we were expecting but I respect the people’s verdict. In one line, I can summarise this victory as we have won the war but we have lost some battles,’ Hooda said.
He added: ‘The decline in the number of seats is due to our own shortcomings and because of infighting in the Congress. We will sit and analyse everything and try our best to remove all the glitches.’
He said that his ministry will be in place after the Oct 28 trust vote in the assembly.
New and old faces are expected to be part of the new ministry. Five ministers out of 10 in the previous Hooda government lost in the assembly poll.
About the main opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) making a comeback in the assembly with 31 seats, Hooda said: ‘It is good that Om Parkash Chautala has got a chance to sit in the opposition. During the last term, there was hardly any role of the opposition but now we expect their cooperation in the state’s development.’
‘From Nov 1, we will initiate road and building projects of worth Rs.1,600 crore in Haryana. We have also got a letter from nuclear power corporation giving an in-principle approval to our nuclear power plant site in Kumaria,’ Hooda said, detailing his future plans.
