Gurugram: Senior Congress leader Ram Niwas Rara, who had contested the last two Haryana assembly elections from Hisar seat, Wednesday joined the BJP in Chandigarh. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini welcomed him into the party by presenting him with the BJP scarf.
Rara’s defection to the BJP came a day after another senior Congress leader from Karnal, Tarlochan Singh, who had contested against former CM Manohar Lal Khattar from the seat in the 2019 assembly elections and against CM Saini in the 2024 assembly byelection, also joined the BJP.
Along with Tarlochan Singh, Congress leaders Ashok Khurana, advocate Arvind Mann alias Nittu Mann, as well as more than 30 local-level party leaders, also quit the party and joined the BJP.
On 15 February, two-time MLA from Radaur, Bishan Lal Saini, had quit the Congress and joined the BJP.
Ever since the Haryana municipal elections were announced for 2 March, several Congress leaders have quit the faction-ridden party and joined the BJP in power in the state.
Udai Bhan, state president of the Congress, termed those quitting the party as opportunists and said they were going to the ruling party in the hope of benefits.
“There is nothing new in it. They know that if they remain with us, they have to do sangharsh (struggle) for another five years, while they see malai (benefits) in the ruling BJP,” Bhan said, speaking to ThePrint Wednesday.
Out of power in Haryana since 2014, the Haryana Congress has been a divided house. The party has seen three state presidents, Ashok Tanwar, Kumari Selja and Bhan, in these 10 years but none could successfully formulate the state unit at the grassroots-level.
Just ahead of the 2024 assembly elections, Congress’s senior leader Kiran Choudhry and her daughter Shruti Choudhry had quit the party.
In the wake of the municipal polls, Congress’s Haryana in-charge Deepak Babaria last month released a list of nearly 250 office-bearers, including district in-charge and co-incharges, district-wise heads of rural and urban units, and coordination committees for the north and the south zone.
Babaria’s announcement invited criticism from Congress’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda faction, as MP Varun Chaudhary said the party should first announce its legislature party leader.
However, within days, Babaria was replaced as in-charge of the Haryana Congress by B.K. Hariprasad.
Jyoti Mishra, a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in Delhi, told ThePrint that in Haryana’s fast-changing political landscape, the defection of key Congress leaders to the BJP reflected deeper structural issues within the state Congress.
Mishra said that with the party losing three consecutive assembly elections and struggling with internal factionalism, leaders like Ram Niwas Rara, Tarlochan Singh and Bishan Saini saw little political future in a weakened organisation.
“The absence of strong leadership and functional party units in the state has only worsened the situation, making BJP a more attractive option. For these leaders, switching sides is not just opportunism; it is a survival strategy in a state where Congress lacks direction and electoral momentum,” Mishra told ThePrint.
“As Haryana gears up for mayoral elections, such defections highlight the party’s inability to retain its senior leadership, raising serious questions about its long-term viability in the state,” she added.
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The defectors
Rara, said to be a close associate of Congress’s Sirsa MP Kumari Selja, had reportedly first sought a ticket from the Congress and then the BJP for the mayoral election from Hisar. After being denied the same, he filed his nomination as an independent candidate.
However, he has withdrawn his nomination and extended support to BJP candidate Praveen Popli after joining the party.
With him, former Hisar municipal corporation chairman Bihari Lal Rara and several other youth leaders of the Congress also joined the BJP.
CM Saini wrote on X Wednesday that “former Congress candidate from Hisar assembly seat Ram Niwas Rara, former chairman of Hisar municipal corporation Bihari Lal Rara, Youth Congress district president Rohit and former Hisar Lok Sabha Youth Congress president Bhupender were welcomed into the BJP family today by presenting them with the party scarf”.
“I am confident that with your support, the BJP will secure a massive majority in Hisar and form a ‘triple-engine’ government,” he said.
Tarlochan Singh, who too joined the BJP in the presence of CM Saini, was the Congress’s district coordinator for the municipal elections.
CM Nayab Saini posted pictures with Tarlochan Singh and others on X Tuesday, saying: “Today, in Karnal, Congress leaders Sardar Tarlochan Singh, Ashok Khurana, Pravesh Gaba, along with AAP leader Sunil Bindal expressed their faith in the policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party and joined the party.”
Bishan Saini had represented Radaur seat from 2009 to 2014 and again from 2019 to 2024. He lost the 2024 assembly election to Shyam Singh Rana of the BJP despite polling more votes than he had done previously. CM Saini posted pictures on X with Bishan Lal and other leaders.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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