Hooda, 77, has served as the Chief Minister of Haryana from 2005 to 2014. He is the leader of the Opposition in Haryana Legislative Assembly.
All eyes are on the fate of senior party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Congress candidate from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi. Hooda was leading from his constituency in Haryana even as the Congress was trailing in the state. The counting of votes is underway for the Haryana Assembly elections 2024.
Speculation was rife that he could also be the Congress’s pick for being the Haryana Chief Minister as exit polls had predicted a clean sweep for the party. However, Hooda had refused to comment on this, saying the Congress high command will decide on the CM.
Hooda, 77, has served as the Chief Minister of Haryana from 2005 to 2014. He is the leader of the Opposition in Haryana Legislative Assembly.
A veteran Congress leader in the state, Hooda has won the Garhi Sampla Kiloi seat thrice – in 2009, 2014 and 2019. In 2019, Hooda had defeated BJP’s Satish Nandal by a margin of 58,312 votes.
According to his election affidavit, Hooda owns immovable property worth Rs 7.29 crore and movable property worth Rs 3.46 crore. He is facing eight criminal cases, out of which four are under investigation and four are pending in various courts.
‘Confident of Win’
While campaigning in Haryana, Hooda, when asked about the Congress’s chance this election, had told PTI, “I am travelling across the state and we are getting tremendous support from all sections. On the basis of that, I can say that people have made up their minds — abki baar Congress ki sarkar.”
On where he sees himself in the race for the chief minister’s post, Hooda said the Congress has an established norm that MLAs are elected, observers come to take their opinion, and then the high command takes a decision. “Whatever it decides will be acceptable to me,” the former Haryana chief minister had said.
