Rohtak, Sep 11 (IANS): It is a "do-or-die" battle for two-time Congress Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, 77, to wrest the helm from the BJP in the October 5 Assembly polls amid the internal "war of supremacy" that kept his party out of power for a decade.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Hooda, who is assumed the "de-facto" chief ministerial face, on Wednesday filed his nomination papers from his stronghold Garhi Sampla-Kiloi in Rohtak district, the seat he has been representing ever since he became the first Chief Minister in 2005.
Thursday is the last day for filing nominations in the state.
For the past many months, Hooda has been travelling across the state by raising the pitch against unemployment, law and order and lack of development by the BJP helm in comparison to the Congress, which ruled the state for a decade till 2014, and consolidating Jats, the crucial vote bank.
Ahead of filing the nomination papers, a confidant Hooda told the media there is a straight contest between the Congress and the BJP. "It's a bipolar contest and the people are upset with government policies and they are going to show the BJP the door this time," he said.
Political observers say the main Opposition Congress this time has an edge over its rival, the BJP, which has been experiencing a major revolt, multiple resignations with rebels contesting as Independents over discontent with the candidate list.
This time the Congress is confident of returning to the helm after it won half of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the recently held general elections, an observer told IANS.
"Also the Congress is not facing any major revolt, like the BJP, over the allocation of tickets. Also, a majority of the tickets so far have been given to the Hooda camp," said the observer.
The Congress is also far ahead of its arch-rival BJP as far as campaigning at the grassroots is concerned.
While first-time Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who has filed his nomination papers from the Ladwa seat of Kurukshetra, has travelled across the state ahead of the announcement of poll dates, the Congress under the leadership of Hooda and his MP son Deepender Hooda has been busy in setting party's house in order and boosting the morale of cadre by holding public meetings.
"It is a do-or-die battle for Bhupinder Hooda, whose party faced defeat in the 2019 Assembly elections under his leadership for the second time. In 2019, Hooda said he was not given a free hand over the selection of candidates on many seats. This time, despite all odds, most of his confidants have been accommodated and given a chance to contest," a senior Congress leader told IANS, requesting anonymity.
"So it's now the responsibility of Hooda not only to ensure win of his seat but also to ensure victory on other seats to form a government with a comfortable majority," the Congress leader said, adding "If he fails to deliver, it will be a political sunset for the senior Hooda."
Hooda is facing cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for approving a land deal of Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra in the fag-end of his second stint as the Chief Minister.
To challenge Hooda in his stronghold, the BJP has fielded Manju Hooda, wife of a gangster and daughter of a former senior police officer. She is the sitting chairperson of the Rohtak Zila Parishad.
As per the poll share in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led INDIA bloc led in the 46 Assembly segments, while the BJP candidates were ahead in the remaining 44 seats. However, there was the near-total rout of regional powers that once ruled the state.
This time the Congress central leadership pushed for a seat-sharing pact with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the polls, but the Hooda faction strongly opposed it.
Currently, the Congress has 28 MLAs in the 90-member state Assembly.