Hooda Signals He Is Not Done Yet, Asks Voters to Back Another Fight
Bhupinder Singh Hooda told supporters in Garhi Sampla-Kiloi he is ready for another political fight and asked them to be ready too.
A week after his 79th birthday, former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has made clear he has no intention of leaving active politics, telling residents of his Assembly constituency that he is preparing for another contest.
Speaking to villagers during a tour of Garhi Sampla-Kiloi on Wednesday, Mr. Hooda presented his political future as a straight choice — between remaining silent and carrying on the struggle — and said he had chosen the latter. He asked those gathered to prepare alongside him, adding that he had never retreated in the past and would not do so now. His remarks in Haryanvi drew applause.
Drawing on the imagery of the wrestling arena, the Congress leader said a political figure, unlike a wrestler, has no strength of his own and depends entirely on public backing. He credited the people of the state with his rise to the chief minister's post and with the formation of a government earlier.
Mr. Hooda also sought to frame the contest around the future of the younger generation, alleging that the BJP government was not working in the interests of the people or their children.
He closed his address by turning the question of his own future into a demonstration of support, asking the crowd to raise their hands if they believed he should fight on. In a message directed at those he said were trying to push him aside, he warned that he knew how to respond forcefully to any attempt to elbow him out.
The comments carry weight given recent strains and competing ambitions within the state Congress unit. Earlier this year, a brief exchange between Mr. Hooda and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala at an event to welcome newly appointed state Congress in-charge Sanjay Dutt drew attention after a video circulated widely. In it, Mr. Hooda was heard telling Mr. Surjewala to support him and see the result, to which Mr. Surjewala replied that he had backed Mr. Hooda for two decades and it was now Mr. Hooda's turn to reciprocate.
On Wednesday, standing before his political base, Mr. Hooda put the question of whether he should remain in active politics directly to his supporters and told them he was ready for the fight.