Congress leaders are already upset that some of the new entrants will affect the political fortunes of existing party leaders. 'They have come to us unconditionally. We will see how we use their services,' Hooda said.

With assembly polls set to be held after the delimitation of seats, some of the leaders are likely to seek new seats to fight. These include some sitting legislators and ministers.

Former deputy chief minister and four-time Congress legislator, Chander Mohan, who messed up his personal and political life with his on-off marriage, religion change and divorce saga with lawyer Anuradha Bali aka Fiza, may find no friends in the Congress to back his name for the Panchkula (earlier Kalka) assembly seat.

The INLD, which is the main opposition party in the state, had managed a lead in only seven assembly segments in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

But former chief minister and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala says the assembly elections are a totally different ball game. 'The Congress will soon realize this,' Chautala said. In the dissolved assembly, the INLD had only eight legislators.

In the May Lok Sabha polls, the BJP, fighting jointly with the INLD, managed a lead in seven assembly segments while the BSP, which went alone, managed a lead in eight segments. The BJP has recently again snapped ties with the INLD.

The HJC, which has now formed an alliance with the BSP and hopes to dent Congress votes, had led in nine assembly segments.

When it came to power in the February 2005 assembly elections, the Congress was led by former chief minister Bhajan Lal, who has now founded the HJC. Hooda pipped him to the post of chief minister at that time. The Congress had returned to power in Haryana after being out of it for nine years.

The Hooda government is expecting a better result in the Oct 13 polls, claiming that development work and a good, responsive administration have fetched the party good support among the people. Even issues like anti-incumbency, drought-like conditions and other local problems did not discourage the Congress from seeking early polls and take the opposition head on.

(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)