'Look at Adampur bypoll result...': Why Bhupinder Hooda is confident AAP won't hurt Congress in Haryana

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is spearheading Congress' election campaign and was the key figure who blocked any alliance with AAP, is confident that the grand old party will sail through against the ruling BJP and that there is no threat of a split in votes. He believes that the main contest in the state is between BJP and Congress and that AAP won't get anti-BJP votes.    

In an exclusive interview with India Today, Hooda spoke on the alliance talks with the AAP, which did not materialise. "At the national level, we have an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party. However, at the provincial level, there was no alliance. Despite this, we made an effort, negotiations took place, but it didn't work out," he said. 

The former chief minister suggested that talks fell through as AAP insisted on more number of seats. "Negotiation is based on give and take, and the share is given according to one's strength. If you try to take more than your capacity, things don't work out. We made an effort, but perhaps they didn’t want it. We made an offer based on their strength."

When asked whether AAP's solo move may attract floating and anti-BJP votes, Hooda rejected this argument, pointing to the Adampur bypolls results. "Before the Lok Sabha elections, there was a by-election in Adampur. The Aam Aadmi Party contested the election there and received 3,000 votes (2.61%). In the previous Assembly election, they also contested, and none of their candidates even managed to save their deposit. So, you can understand from this," the veteran Congress leader said, suggesting that AAP won't get much support in Haryana. 

Adampur went to bypolls in 2022, where Kuldeep Bishnoi, then a Congressman, resigned from the assembly seat and joined BJP. In the bypolls, his son contested and bagged the seat with 51.50% of votes, while the Congress came second with 39.49% of votes. The AAP came in fourth position with just 2.1% votes. 

In the Lok Sabha elections, the AAP, in alliance with Congress, contested unsuccessfully from Kurukshetra. It garnered nearly 4% of total votes in the state. However, Hooda suggested that this vote was due to an alliance with Congress. "That was when they were in an alliance with us. That was our vote as well, not just theirs alone."

"The voters of Haryana are very wise. You saw in the Lok Sabha elections, many other parties also contested, and some barely managed around 1% of the vote. People have already made up their minds, and the direct contest is between Congress and BJP. Those trying to split the vote will not receive any votes," Hooda said. 

Haryana will vote on October 5 and results will be declared on October 8.