By Jaideep Sarin
Chandigarh, Jan 23 (IANS): At a time when Congress politics in Haryana is dominated by the Hooda surname, especially that of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, one other leader from the state has emerged on the national scene.

Haryana Industries and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala has just been elevated as one of the Congress party's national spokespersons, especially for TV appearances. He has also been made part of the Congress' national-level coordination committee for the April-May Lok Sabha elections.

Congress politics in Haryana have, since 2005, been dominated by the elder Hooda and his son, Deepinder Hooda, who is the MP from Rohtak.
The only other noticeable name from Haryana at the central level is Miss Shelja, union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment.

Surjewala has started making regular appearances on TV news channels for discussions on national and political affairs. At a time when the Congress is facing a twin attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the street-active Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress has been looking for leaders who could put across the party line in an effective manner. Surjewala seems to fit the bill.

Suave, articulate and firm in his mannerisms, Surjewala, 46, a lawyer by training, surely knows what to talk about and how to effectively get things across. With his new assignments, Surjewala can often be seen flying to New Delhi.

Born June 3, 1967 in a politically-dominant Jat family and son of senior Haryana Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala, Randeep is no newcomer to the rough and tumble of politics. He studied in Narwana and Chandigarh and holds a masters degree and a degree in law. In March 2000, he became the first leader from Haryana to be made president of the Indian Youth Congress. He held the post for five years. He was also made secretary of Congress party in 2004.

Enjoying the confidence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Surjewala was elevated as the working president of the Haryana Congress in 2004-05.

Surjewala's high-point in politics was in 2005 when he defeated then chief minister and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president Om Prakash Chautala in the Narwana assembly constituency. He had also defeated Chautala for the same seat in 1996 but at that time the INLD leader did not hold any office.

Surjewala was inducted as transport minister in the Hooda government in March 2005. Since then Surjewala has held various portfolios like parliamentary affairs, public works department, power, information technology and public health.

In the Hooda government, Surjewala has in recent years also emerged as a firefighter for the chief minister. This week, when the 19,000-strong Haryana Roadways staff went on strike, bringing the state-run transporter to a crippling halt, Hooda called in Surjewala to negotiate with the striking leaders after earlier attempt to break the impasse through talks failed.

Surjewala, who started the talks with union leaders past midnight, worked out a solution to end the strike, with the meeting stretching till 5 a.m.

Thus, even with his new assignments in New Delhi, Surjewala has shown that he is also valuable in the state.