Prepared for another fight, says Hooda, seeks support from voters in his Assembly constituency

Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda with a supporter in Garhi Sampla-Kiloi. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement A week after turning 79, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday made it clear that he was not ready to hang up his political boots.Addressing villagers during a tour of his Assembly constituency Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, the Leader of the Opposition said he was ready for another “fight” and asked his supporters to also prepare for it.Mr. Hooda cast his political future as a choice between “sitting silent” and “continuing the fight”.“My people are my real strength. I have come to ask you whether I should sit quietly or continue to fight. There are only two paths – to sit silent or to fight. I am ready. You should be ready. I am not going to step back. I have never stepped back before,” the Congress leader said in Haryanvi, drawing applause.Invoking the language of the wrestling arena, Mr. Hooda said a political leader, unlike a wrestler, had no strength of his own and drew it from the people.“You are my strength. I am nothing without you. I became Chief Minister because of the strength you gave me. You supported me earlier to form the government,” he said.He also sought to frame the political contest in terms of the future of the younger generation, alleging that the BJP government was “not working in the interests of the people or their children”.Mr. Hooda ended his address by turning the question of his political future into a show of public support. “Raise your hands and tell me, should I fight?” he said.Sending a message to those seeking to sideline him, he said: “If anyone tries to elbow me out, I know how to strike back so hard that they will fall to the ground. I know how to use my elbow.”The remarks acquire significance against the backdrop of recent strains and competing ambitions within the State Congress unit.Earlier this year, a brief exchange between Mr. Hooda and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala at a programme to welcome newly appointed State Congress in-charge Sanjay Dutt had fuelled discussion.In a video of the event that went viral, Mr. Hooda was heard telling Mr. Surjewala, “Support me, then see the impact.” Mr. Surjewala, taking the microphone from State Congress president Rao Narender Singh, responded: “I have supported you for 20 years. Now it is your turn to support me.”On Wednesday, in front of his political base, Mr. Hooda put the question of whether he should continue in active politics directly to his supporters, and told them he was ready for the fight. Published - September 24, 2026 01:40 am IST