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Updated: Mar 19, 2019 14:26 IST

The Congress high command on Monday announced a co-ordination committee for Haryana under the chairmanship of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The party had last week made a similar announcement only to withdraw it later.

The move to ask Hooda to lead the co-ordination committee before the Lok Sabha polls is being perceived as an attempt to give “due importance” to the two-time chief minister. Despite trying hard, the former chief minister had been overlooked by the Congress high command for the post of Haryana Congress president.

Party in-charge for Haryana, Ghulam Nabi Azad clarified on Monday that the reason for withdrawal of orders to set up the co-ordination committee on Friday was taken since the party was planning to constitute many other committees such as the campaign committee, management committee simultaneously. “We are officially announcing the constitution of co-ordination committee. Hopefully, we will have its meeting tomorrow and discuss the future programme of Haryana,’’ Azad said in Delhi.

While Hooda is the chairman of the co-ordination committee, state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar and senior Congress leaders such as Rajya Sabha MP Kumari Selja, Kiran Choudhary, Randeep Surjewala have been included as members of the committee.

This is being seen as recognition of Hooda’s political standing by the party high command. The other members of the 16 member co-ordination committee were former MP Kuldeep Bishnoi, former Haryana ministers Mahender Pratap Singh and Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Rohtak MP and Hooda’s son, Deepender Hooda, former MP Naveen Jindal, Haryana MLAs Kuldeep Sharma and Jaivir Balmiki, former MLAs, Kailasho Saini and Anil Thakkar; and Jaipal Singh Lali.