New Delhi: Former Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar on Thursday resigned from all election-related committees of the party, as a protest against the “succumbing to pressure” from former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the distribution of tickets.
As the Congress completed the process of deciding the candidates for all 90 seats, Tanwar, who on Sunday had protested outside interim party president Sonia Gandhi’s residence, decided to announce his resignation from all poll panels.
He wrote a three-page letter to Gandhi in which he accused some senior leaders of allowing the party to be reduced to “Hooda Congress”. Tanwar, however, cleared the air around his future, saying he would continue to remain an “ordinary soldier” for the party.
Stating that he has been with the Congress since he was 17 years old, Tanwar wrote that he felt “immense pain” at the manner in which ticket distribution had proceeded. He said he was writing the letter after “exhausting all avenues”.
He charged that some leaders were out to “sabotage” the party and noted that when he raised the issue with senior leaders, they remained “indifferent” to it.
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Earlier, Tanwar’s supporters had also raised questions around the manner in which senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is the party in-charge for Haryana, allowed Hooda to have a greater say in ticket distribution.
Tanwar said that while those who worked hard for the party over the past five years were ignored, tickets were given to those who had rebelled and threatened to leave the Congress.
“It is excruciating to see the same individuals taking all the decisions and instead of allowing just, free and fair selection of candidates … the individuals are selling tickets and subverting the great political legacy of the Congress,” Tanwar wrote in the protest letter.
Some of his supporters had earlier accused senior party leaders of “selling” some tickets and ignoring the claims of prominent leaders.
Tanwar’s ire was particularly directed towards Hooda and his son, Deepender Hooda. He said that both had lost in the Lok Sabha elections and questioned why the party expects them to lead it to victory in the assembly polls.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Credit: PTI
Tanwar also offered to provide proof of alleged corruption in the distribution of tickets. He said the ticket distribution was not in accordance with “practice and laid rules”.
While many party insiders believe that Tanwar could influence the party’s prospects in at least a dozen seats, especially around Sirsa – from where he too unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election – he has not threatened open rebellion just yet.
When asked if he would campaign for the party’s candidates, Tanwar, a Dalit, said it would depend on whether he is approached to do so. He also added that he was not sure if any of his supporters would contest against the party’s official candidates.