Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: Congress not a divided house, will fight polls unitedly, says Chidambaram

Chandigarh: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday asserted that the Haryana Congress was not a divided house and would fight the October 5 state assembly elections unitedly.

Addressing the media here, the former union minister lashed out at the BJP government over several issues including agriculture, economy, and state debt.

He also said that the Congress will come out with its poll manifesto this week.

Polling for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and votes will be counted on October 8.

On reports of infighting in the Haryana Congress, Chidambaram said, "I do not think Haryana PPCC is a divided house. There are leaders of high stature. Naturally, the leaders will ask for greater influence in the selection of candidates but once the candidates have been selected, I am sure that all of them will campaign together and win the election.

"There is no dissidence in the Congress party. There are several leaders in a state unit and we respect all of them. Naturally, there will be a healthy competition among the leaders," he said.

"My good friend (Kumari) Selja ji has not said a single word against Mr (Bhupinder Singh) Hooda, nor has Mr Hooda said a word against Ms Selja. So we are a united party. We will fight this election in a united manner. We are confident that we will have the support of the people of Haryana," he said.

To a question on BJP leader Anil Vij staking claim for the chief ministerial post, Chidambaram said it only shows that it is a consequence of the Lok Sabha verdict.

"It has certainly put speed breakers on Mr Modi's juggernaut and one of the fallout is that the central BJP is losing control over the state BJP.

I won't be surprised if more people throw in their hats. Let them throw in their hats. It shows the Haryana BJP is not united," alleged Chidambaram.

Vij, a former minister, said on Sunday that he will stake a claim for the chief minister's post if the party returns to power in Haryana.

The six-time MLA's remarks come at a time when the BJP has already made it clear that Nayab Singh Saini will be the chief minister if it forms the government.

Chidambaram appealed to the voters to ensure the Congress' victory in the coming election, saying "10 years is long enough for a party to be in power".

"I personally believe that people must change the government at least once in 10 years," he said.

The former Union minister hit out at the BJP government over the issue of agriculture, saying nearly 70 per cent of the population in Haryana is dependent on it in one way or the other.

"Thirty-two per cent of the agricultural debt is owed to professional money lenders, not to institutional lenders. My comment is that the Haryana government, in the last ten years, has totally failed to provide agriculture credit to farmers," he alleged.

He also said the Fasal Bima Yojana scheme is a "total failure all over the country including Haryana".

The number of farmers registered under this scheme in Haryana was 8.88 lakh in 2021 but has fallen to 7.64 lakh in 2023-24.

Why are farmers reluctant to register under the scheme, he asked.

"There are even more damaging statistics. The area insured under Fasal Bima Yojana in Haryana was 22.5 lakh hectares in 2019-20, it is now only 15.5 lakh hectares in 2022-23, and seven lakh hectares is not covered now," he said.

He also referred to the farmers' agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws and asserted that farmers and agriculture cannot get justice from the BJP government.

He asked farmers to throw out the BJP government in the coming elections.

Chidambaram claimed that Haryana has the peculiar distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the country.

According to the CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy), the unemployment rate was 37.4 per cent, he said, adding that the state's economy was in "shambles".

A total of 278 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) have closed down their operations post the Covid pandemic, he said.

"The state is in a debt trap. The state's public debt has increased from Rs 71,000 crore in 2014-25 to Rs 3.17 lakh crore in 2024-25. How will the state finance its public debt and how much of its revenue will go to interest expenditure," he asked.