Hooda, Chavan survive; to continue as CMs till elections

he Congress leadership has decided against any change of guard in Haryana and Maharashtra in view of the fast approaching assembly elections in the two states.

The reprieve for Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his Maharashtra counterpart Prithviraj Chavan came in the form of direction from the Congress high command to the two leaders to work for the party’s victory in coming polls, due in October-November this year.

A senior functionary was categorical in ruling out any change in the two states. “No change. Both Hooda and Chavan will continue as chief ministers,” he said.

The dissidence in Haryana and Maharashtra gathered momentum after the Congress faced rout in both the states in the Lok Sabha elections. The central leadership had stepped in to mollify the rival camps, holding a series of meetings with rebel leaders.

Having been in power in Maharashtra for 15 consecutive years and two successive terms in Haryana, the Congress is up against a resurgent BJP-led alliance in both the states.

The NDA won 42 of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra while the Congress could barely manage to win just one of 10 seats in Haryana.

On their part, Chavan and Hooda discussed the poll preparedness with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

However, it remains to be seen if the two leaders would be projected as the party’s faces in the coming polls.