Who Will Be Next Haryana Chief Minister? Congress, BJP Will Be Faced With Tough Choices

Haryana Assembly elections: Who will be Haryana CM? Bhupinder Hooda, Kumari Selja, Nayab Saini, or Anil Vij? Ahead of the results, take a look at the probable for the Haryana CM's chair.

Who Will Be Haryana CM? (From left) Kumari Selja, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Nayab Singh Saini, and Anil Vij.

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The exit polls for the Haryana Assembly elections pointed to a big BJP upset and a massive Congress victory. Although exit polls have been known to get the election results wrong in the past, they can give one an idea of what lies in store for the people of a state for the next five years. The Haryana results are due tomorrow and it looks to be a tough road ahead for the top leadership, irrespective of which party wins.

Going by the exit polls released on Saturday evening, it's a clear win for the Congress. Congress, which was once a dominant party in Haryana, fell flat on its face in 2014, losing 25 seats. In 2019, it managed to save grace with 31 seats, but couldn't come to power. The BJP, which got 40 seats, and Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party, with 10 MLAs formed the government in 2019. But the alliance failed right before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Now, the exit polls point towards a disappointment for both the BJP and JJP and a clear win for the Congress. So, what happens in that scenario? Who becomes the CM if Congress wins?

Winning the elections is only the easy part. The Congress's biggest problem this election has been the factional feud between Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Sirsa Lok Sabha seat MP Kumari Selja. Both tall leaders of the party are favourites for the CM's post and neither is willing to back down. 

The other leaders in the race are Bhupinder Hooda's son Deepender and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda

Bhupinder Singh Hooda is undoubtedly the strongest contender for the CM's post. Since the elections got over, he has been holding meetings with various Congress leaders in Haryana to strengthen his position. 

Having previously served as the Chief Minister of Haryana from 2005 to 2014, Hooda brings significant experience and a robust political legacy to the table. The exit polls from Saturday predict a massive victory for the Congress, with the estimates pegging anywhere between 43 and 64 seats for the party in the 90-member assembly. 

Moreover, a decisive Congress win would imply that Jat voters largely supported the party and weren't split between the INLD and JJP, both headed by members of Devi Lal's Chautala clan. According to an India Today-CVoter survey, Bhupinder Hooda had the support of nearly 31% of voters.

On a question of whether he would make way for the younger generation, 77-year-old Bhupinder Singh Hooda quipped: "I am neither tired nor retired... What do you think of me?"

Kumari Selja

Incumbent MP from the Sirsa seat, Kumari Selja (62) had seemingly been upset with the Congress in the run up to the elections. This was evident in the fact that she was mostly absent from election rallies. Her grouse reportedly stems from her camp's supporters being ignored during the ticket distribution in Haryana and Hooda seemingly being pushed as the unofficial CM face by many.

However, the Congress cannot afford to let two of its tallest leaders be at loggerheads. In fact, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi herself went to meet the former Union minister two days before the Haryana elections in an attempt to placate her. 

If Congress wins decisively, it would mean that Selja, a strong Dalit face in Haryana, prevented the community's vote division between Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party and Chandra Shekhar Aazad's Azad Samaj Party.

The Congress would find it difficult to choose between Kumari Selja and Bhupinder Hooda.

Randeep Singh Surjewala 

A fiery orator and the Congress's Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana Randeep Singh Surjewala is another Jat who has considerable influence in the state. What works in his favour is the fact that he is a nationally known face and is close to the Gandhis.

The former Haryana minister could be a way out of the Hooda-vs-Selja clash for the Congress. "Having the ambition to be Chief Minister is not wrong. We will accept the decision taken by Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for CM face," the 57-year-old said.

Haryana CM Favourites From BJP

If BJP proves exit polls wrong and wins the Haryana elections, the saffron party will also be faced with a tough situation. Already hit by attrition of MLAs and other senior leaders and infighting, choosing a CM will not be an easy task.

The choice will be split between primarily two candidates — incumbent CM Nayab Singh Saini and Home Minister Anil Vij.

Nayab Singh Saini

A big name from the OBC community, Nayab Singh Saini was a Minister of State in Haryana and handled multiple portfolios. He became the CM hours after the fall of the Manohar Lal Khattar government earlier this year. Although the party said that there would be no change in the CM, Anil Vij hinted that he was open to being the CM.

Anil Vij

Anil Vij threw in his hat for the CM's post after the elections concluded, pointing out that he was the seniormost leader in the party. He said that he was "ready to serve" as the CM. He even reminded reporters on Sunday that he was at the forefront of "exposing" the corruption of the previous Congress government.

He said that his loyalty to the BJP can never be questioned as he has cleared every challenge for the party with full dedication. He said that if the party high command wishes, he is ready to become the CM.