“Haryana Can Give Me Space”: Kumari Selja, A Dalit, Day After Exit Polls

Congress MP Kumari Selja told NDTV today she is confident her party will cross 60 seats in Haryana. An aggregate of seven exit polls have indicated the Congress will win 55 of Haryana’s 90 seats – comfortably ahead of the halfway mark of 46.

Health warning: exit polls often get it wrong.

With the forecast of a Congress win in Haryana, the focus has moved to who would be the next Chief Minister. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Surjewala, and Ms Selja herself have made their ambition known to the public, much before the election. This had raised a situation of infighting.

Ms Selja has made it clear she is very much in the race for the top post, but it won’t be through the traditional “staking claim” optics.

“Every state has groups. It is a part of politics. Why point fingers at Haryana or my party? This has been there, not just during elections. On the ground all of us have worked hard together,” Ms Selja told NDTV.

She denied she would push her way through to stake claim for the top post. “Why should I stake claim? Stay away from this mindset, that people stake claim. We have a level of seniority, who work hard on the ground, and are committed to the party. Such people should be considered. Why should it be about staking claim…” the Congress MP said.

Ms Selja is not amenable to the idea of making MLAs select the Chief Minister, as according to her this could lead to more factionalism. Instead, the high command should take the big decision, she said.

“I have always felt in all these years, including during discussions with the high command, that a national party has to take a political view on things. And that is what should be the main consideration in choosing people, anytime, anywhere, any post, as to what we want to do, what we want to show, what we want to present. Apart from that, it is always the high command’s last word which counts,” she said.

“I feel even at that time and this time, counting MLAs etc is not a healthy thing for any party. I think it is the high command which should take a decision. Otherwise people get tied down… that I feel also leads to further factionalism,” Ms Selja added.

She asked people to come out from the mindset that sees voters as compartmentalised entities and not supportive of one another. Ms Selja, who is a Dalit, said people from all sections of society in Haryana support her.

“Haryana can give me space. It is you people who have to come out of the mindset that Haryana is like this, Haryana is like that. I can assure you that I have support from all sections of society. Don’t fall into this trap, propagated by vested interests. Move away and move forward,” she said.

“All sections have supported the party. Dalits have supported. Not just them, others also. We have to move away from dominance of one segment because that’s also not doing any justice to that one segment. You’re isolating them and that doesn’t help,” Ms Selja said.

The aggregate of exit polls shows the BJP could end up with 27 seats each in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.  One exit poll, Jist-TIF Research, gave the BJP an outside margin of 37 seats – the maximum – in Haryana.

Counting is on Tuesday.