Having won five of the 10 seats in Haryana in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is optimistic about the upcoming Assembly polls. Five-term Congress MP from Rohtak, Deepender Singh Hooda, son of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, speaks to The Indian Express about the Lok Sabha results, the party’s poll preparations, chances after two consecutive Assembly election defeats, and potential alliances. Excerpts:

The Congress opened its account in Haryana in the Lok Sabha polls this time, after 0 seats in 2019 and 1 in 2014. How do you see this in terms of the Assembly polls later this year?

The people of Haryana have spoken decisively in the Lok Sabha elections. They have voted for change. There is a high level of anti-incumbency against the state government, which has failed to deliver. The BJP has derailed the Haryana story from being a No. 1 state in terms of per capita income, per capita investment, growth rate, and other social indices, to the No. 1 state in unemployment, drug addiction, drug abuse-related deaths, and crime. Every section of society – be it schoolchildren, sportswomen, farmers, sarpanches, and government employees – have been forced to come out on the streets because of the government’s unjust policies. This government has proved to be a complete failure.

We won five seats, but we also got 47.6% of the vote share, which is the highest the INDIA bloc garnered in any state, a nearly 20% upswing from the 2019 results.

But the BJP had the lead in 44 of the 90 Assembly segments, against the Congress’s 42 and INDIA’s 46. So it is still a very close contest.

If you look at the last 10 years, the BJP has performed well in national elections but not as well in state elections. In Haryana, the BJP was ahead in 80 Assembly segments in 2019. The Congress was ahead in only 10. But when the Assembly elections took place some months later, the Congress went up to 31, and the BJP tumbled down to 40. They could not form the government on their own. One of the BJP leaders then said that the BJP could not repeat the same results in the Assembly polls because Modi was a ‘Brahmastra,’ but only in the Lok Sabha elections. This time, their ‘Brahmastra’ has also failed. So we are very confident of a clean sweep.

So the Congress will fight the Assembly polls alone?

As far as the Aam Aadmi Party is concerned, they made an effort, but they don’t have a base in the state. It was only because of the national perspective that we had to give them three (Lok Sabha) seats in Delhi and one in Haryana as part of the broader alliance. We got Chandigarh. And we worked hard for that one (Haryana AAP) candidate, who lost narrowly.

But on the ground, they have no presence. They don’t have much vote share in Haryana either. As far as the state elections are concerned, there has never been an alliance with the AAP before. The Congress is capable of contesting all 90 seats in the state. What happens later… we can’t say at the moment.

What should the Congress do differently this time, given its defeat in the last two Assembly elections?

One of the factors behind our confidence is anti-incumbency. The other is that we have put our house in order. The people were fed up with the BJP in 2019 itself, but certain organizational lapses on our part, including that we ourselves were not as confident, and were late in making certain organizational decisions. Perhaps even the ticket distribution wasn’t optimal.

The strength of any good organization is to learn from the lapses and make amends. The Congress has taken good and timely organizational decisions. The PCC president was appointed two years ago. In the last two years, more than 40 former MPs and MLAs have joined the Congress. One sitting MP joined, while three Independent MLAs who withdrew support to the BJP backed us. Our house is in order this time.

Should the party announce a CM face?

The party has taken very good and timely decisions. The central leadership appointed Udai Bhan ji as the state president. They showed a lot of faith in Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who continued as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP). So the team is in place, it has performed and the people have accepted it. As far as the CM is concerned, the party has a process.

The perception is that the PCC president is a Bhupinder Hooda loyalist, the state unit is run by the Hoodas. Some unhappy leaders have left – Kiran Choudhry and her daughter recently, and Kuldeep Bishnoi in 2022. How will it affect poll results?

That’s a wrong perception. Like I said, 40 former MLAs and MPs have joined the Congress in the last two years. More people have joined the Congress, against the few who have left. It shows which way the wind is blowing. All the leaders have designated roles in the party and are making good contributions.

Senior leader Kumari Selja has announced a state-wide padyatra with focus on urban areas. There is a belief that the PCC campaign will only have the Hoodas, so some leaders are planning their own campaigns.

There are 90 Assembly segments, and just a few months left for the elections. How can you claim that one person will cover all this? Every leader is now in Haryana for the elections. They will all join the campaign, along with the candidates. Some people will go door-to-door, others will do something else. All senior party leaders will campaign. The BJP and the media are fishing for something negative, but the Haryana Congress is completely united. There is no factionalism.

Will you contest the Assembly elections?

I have just been elected to the Lok Sabha. It was a special victory. This was my fifth election. In the last five elections, the Haryana Congress’s best performance has always come from Rohtak. This time, all sections voted for me. I led in SC booths, Vidhan Sabha segments with concentrations of Ahirs and Punjabis, most villages with Brahmin, Gujjars, Rajputs, and backward class concentrations. I think this victory was special. There is no plan to contest the Vidhan Sabha elections.

Do you see yourself as the next CM if the party wins?

My aim has always been to serve the people. I have never aimed for any post.

The Congress has been successful in recent state polls with a campaign focused around guarantees. Will the party replicate this model in Haryana?

Yes. We are coming out with a chargesheet against the BJP government first. Then we will bring out our guarantees. The Congress is already working on its manifesto. Consultations are on with all sections of people. It is going to be a people’s manifesto, with guarantees a part of it.