Saturday, March 5 2005 10:44 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chandigarh: His journey to the Chief Minister's chair took 32 years even though Bhupender Singh Hooda entered mainstream politics with a bang by defeating the patriarch of Haryana politics, Devi Lal, thrice since 1991 in the Lok Sabha elections.

His only stint in the State Assembly in 1996 was cut short as he resigned last year (2004) on being elected to the Lok Sabha for the fourth time. The MP from Rohtak and Jat leader needs to be re-elected to the Assembly within six months.

Hooda, 57, never saw eye-to-eye with four-time Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, who was left behind in the race for the top post after the Congress' landslide victory in the February Assembly polls.

It was with the backing of Jat leaders, including Jai Parkash, besides leaders of other communities like Union Ministers Selja and Rao Inderjit Singh and industrialist MP Navin Jindal that Hooda ended up in the hot seat without being a member of the Assembly.

Congress president Bhajan Lal's claim was said to be the biggest, having led the party to victory in last year's Lok Sabha polls with nine of the 10 seats and a near repeat in the Assembly polls with 67 out of 90.

Both Bhajan Lal and Hooda have strong camps within the State Congress, but the Jat leader finally found favour with the Congress high command.

Bhajan Lal's slide became evident recently when the in-fighting came to the fore and six of the nine sitting MPs wrote a letter to the Congress high command, saying they did not want him as Chief Minister.

Son of veteran parliamentarian Ranbir Singh, Hooda was born a month after India's Independence on September 15, 1947 in village Sanghi, which falls in Kiloi Assembly segment, in Rohtak district. He has a son and a daughter.

An agriculturist and an advocate by profession, he has a BA and LLB from Punjab University, Chandigarh and Delhi University.

Hooda was Killoi block Congress Committee president from 1972-77, Haryana Pradesh Youth Congress senior vice-president from 1980 to 1982 and Panchayat Samiti and Panchayat Parishad chairman from 1983-1987.

He was first elected to the 10th Lok Sabha as a giant-killer in 1991 defeating former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. The following year, he was made an All India Congress Committee (AICC) member, in 1994 Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP-I) executive committee member.

Hooda was also Haryana Congress Parliamentary Group convenor from 1994-96.

His second stint in the Lok Sabha was in 1996, again beating Devi Lal and became Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president in 1997.

In 1998, he made his third entry, pipping Devi Lal by 383 votes.

Hooda's fourth entry into the Lok Sabha came when he was elected last year after which he resigned from the State Assembly to which he was elected in 1996.

He has held posts in departments like education and agriculture, and interests ranging from social service to reading to sports - cricket, badminton and lawn tennis. Hooda is also a widely travelled man.