Senior Leaders with experience in the organisation and Government have been given responsibility to lead the Congress party in the Haryana, Assembly polls, AICC general secretary in charge of the State Ghulam Nabi Azad said here.

Kumari Selja has been appointed as Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee chief while former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as head of the election management committee and leader of Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader, ahead of the polls.

Azad who was here in the function where both Selja and Hooda formally took over their responsibilities, said the party will soon form election committee, campaign committee and manifesto committee.

The AICC General Secretary said Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has taken the decision because she knew the working style and capabilities of both the leaders. He said Selja worked in organisation and was also as Union Minister during Congress led government at the centre. Hooda was also two-term Chief Minister of the State.

Azad accused BJP of ruling the  Government on television, emphasising that Congress goes along with the people and all sections of society. He said Congress follows the same principles which has been followed by the senior party leaders since 1947.

“We implement the ideology of Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel and other stalwarts. We work for socially and economically weaker section of the society. We give job to jobless people, house to homeless people; construct roads, bridges, hospitals and educational institutes among others,” he said.

The Congress leader also accused BJP of misusing the agencies against opposition leaders saying Congress never sent any Opposition leaders into jail.

“We do not use CBI, ED, IB and other agencies against the opposition leaders. We may be in opposition for 1000 years but would not change our approach after winning the election and running the government,” he added.

TANWAR, CHAUDHARY AND BISHNOI FAIL TO APPEAR

Giving ample hints of the dissension withing Congress ranks, three senior leaders failed to appear in the meeting. Two of the ousted leaders--Ashok Tanwar and Kiran Chaudhary did not make it to the meeting of MLAs.

On a question of three missing leaders- former HPCC chief Ashok Tanwar, former CLP leader Kiran Choudhary and senior congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi, Azad said that they have not come in the meeting due to some personal reasons. He rubbished charges of differences among the leaders of the Congress party in the State.

I WILL NOT CONTEST, SAYS SELJA

Selja said she will not contest the assembly elections and will campaign in all the constituencies for Congress candidates. “Youth and people of all sections of the society will be given ticket to contest the election,” she said. Selja said issues related to job loss, economic slowdown, corruption, unemployment, women’s security will be raised in the campaign.  “We have a limited time but would work with the party workers and leaders effectively,” she said, adding that election brings challenges and they would work as a team.