Why was Ajay Maken sent to Haryana?

New Delhi: Congress party has fielded Ajay Maken as its candidate from Haryana and it is being said that former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had laid a condition that if the party makes anyone a candidate, instead of Randeep Surjewala and Kumari Selja, he will ensure their victory.

Earlier it seemed that the party would field a Brahmin from Haryana and Pramod Tiwari also went to meet Hooda. Rajeev Shukla was also trying and Anand Sharma’s name was also discussed.

Ghulam Nabi Azad has been in charge of Haryana, hence his name was also being discussed. But in the end, the Congress decided Maken’s name and now it will be Hooda’s responsibility to ensure his victory.

Congress may have sent Maken to Haryana under whatever compulsion, but party leaders are claiming of two advantages. First, his is a Punjabi Khatris, the community from which Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar belongs.

There is a discussion in Haryana that BJP will not contest the next election in the name of Khattar. By the time of next election, it will be ten years and before that BJP will field a new leader so that anti-incumbency can be reduced. In such a situation, Congress will get the benefit of Maken’s being sent to Rajya Sabha from the state.

Even if the BJP does not remove Khattar, the Congress will present a Punjabi Khatri face. Another advantage of Maken is that Ashok Tanwar, who was the President of Congress and now doing Aam Aadmi Party politics, is his brother-in-law.

So, Congress will somehow try to neutralize him with the help of Maken.