‘Winnability’ is a key criteria for securing party nominations: Congress’ Hooda 

Ahead of the State Assembly and parliamentary elections, former Chief Minister and currently Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on June 18 made it clear that the party was fully geared up. ‘‘Winnability shall be the key criteria for selecting party candidates for these elections,” Mr. Hooda said.

Ahead of the State Assembly and parliamentary elections, former Chief Minister and currently Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on June 18 made it clear that the party was fully geared up. ‘‘Winnability shall be the key criteria for selecting party candidates for these elections,” Mr. Hooda said.

Mr. Hooda was in Panipat at an interaction programme with locals, including industrialists, traders, farmers and party leaders and members.

“Winnability will be the key criterion for the nomination of candidates in the upcoming Assembly election,” Mr. Hooda said on the sidelines of the programme, in a clear hint that some sitting party legislators could be dropped in the coming elections depending on their performance and “winnability”. Mr. Hooda was accompanied by the party’s State president Chaudhary Udaybhan and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda.

“The people of the State have made up their mind to form a Congress government in the State and the upcoming election is a mere formality. Congress is continuously organising public meetings with the aim to make people aware of welfare schemes once the party forms the government. Also, through these programmes, the party gets an opportunity to understand the problems of the people. Congress will decide its manifesto and the policies of the government in the future on the basis its dialogue with the public,” he said.

Mr. Hooda said the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)-Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) government had made Haryana “number one” in terms of “unemployment, crime and inflation”. “Government reports and statistics attest to this. While Haryana was the number one State in development during Congress’ tenure, the BJP-JJP has pushed Haryana to the bottom,” he said.

He said that BJP-JJP alliance had failed in every field, from health and education to agriculture. “The government refused to give grants to universities due to which, now, universities are increasing their fees. Due to this, the children from poor and middle class families will gradually be deprived of education. The condition of the health sector is such that there are hardly any doctors and staff in the hospitals. As far as farmers are concerned, the government, by pushing inflation, has doubled the input cost, instead of doubling farmers’ income,” Mr. Hooda said.