Ashok Tanwar: A last-minute change of heart ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections 2024 on Saturday, October 5, 2024, led to BJP leader Ashok Tanwar going back to the Congress party. The developments kept political circles abuzz on the last day of the election campaign. Ashok Tanwar, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) eight months ago, decided on Thursday to go back to his earlier party, the Congress. The function was held in Mahendragarh district where the Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi and former Chief Minister of Haryana, Bhupendra Singh Hooda, greeted him.
Ashok Tanwar ‘s Sudden Shift Before Elections
Ashok Tanwar’s flip-flop came just a few days after he was clicked campaigning for BJP candidate Randhir Parihar in Jind, Safidon – where he had confidently asserted hopes for a third successive victory for the BJP in the state. His sudden about-face only added to the interest level, coming as it did shortly after social media posts that saw Tanwar posing with BJP leaders, proclaiming allegiance to the party.
Kumari Selja defeated Ashok Tanwar with 2,38,497 votes in the Lok Sabha elections. He resigned Congress and joined AAP in April 2022. He joined the BJP and abandoned the AAP in January 2024. Congress has now used a single arrow to strike several targets. BJP targeted Dalit voters in the elections for the legislature. The Congress has attempted to convey a message to the Dalits by bringing Tanwar into the party.
Congress Leadership Role and Early Success
Ashok Tanwar’s political life has been rollercoaster-ride of heavy ups and downs. He has been a former President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee and a Lok Sabha MP from Sirsa. His earlier stint in Congress made him the youngest President of Indian Youth Congress and NSUI. With such an impressive political résumé, Tanwar has not exactly been victorious in recent elections. He lost the 2014 general election to Charanjit Singh Rori of the INLD and the 2024 election to Congress veteran Kumari Selja. Tanwar’s return to Congress just ahead of the elections marks a big political shift; and its influence will be followed closely as Haryana goes to the polls.
Dushyant Chautala has formed an alliance with Chandrashekhar Azad in an attempt to court Dalit voters in the Haryana assembly elections. Congress feared they would lose support from Dalit voters. because during the election season, the BJP launched broad assaults against the Congress under the guise of Kumari Selja. BJP is arguing that Kumari Selja is not getting sufficient respect in Congress due to being a Dalit.