The camps led by Harish Rawat and the combined faction of Pritam- Indira want to gain decisive hold over the party.
With little more than an year to go for assembly elections in Uttarakhand, the war between the factions headed by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Harish Rawat and combined faction led by Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Pritam Singh and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly Indira Hridayesh has escalated. The leaders of both factions are now openly issuing statements against each other and it is apparent that both the factions are now bracing themselves for the final battle for having complete control over the party before it enters into the electoral plunge.
The issue of return of rebels in the party created deep divisions in the party with the camp of PCC president Pritam Singh inclined to accept rebels back into party’s fold while the camp led by Harish Rawat being adamant on blocking the return of rebels.
However the latest flare in the simmering divisions in the party was provided by former speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal in Haldwani recently when he along with the Rajya Sabha MP, Pradip Tamta announced that Harish Rawat would be the face of the party in the assembly elections of 2022.
The camp of Pritam-Indira was quick to retaliate and claimed that the elections would be fought under the leadership of PCC chief Pritam Singh. Leaders of both camps are now openly targeting each other much to the glee of the ruling BJP.
Expressing his opinion on the issue, political commentator Jay Singh Rawat told The Pioneer that the internal divisions in the Congress party is not a new thing and in the past too, the hostilities between senior leaders have resulted in expulsions or resignations. He cited rivalries between Gulab Singh and Brahmdutt, between K C Pant and Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Harish Rawat and Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Satpal Maharaj and Harish Rawat and Harish Rawat and Vijay Bahuguna during different times in the past as examples. Rawat added that though the BJP is happy with internal divisions in Congress, it may not get any political advantage from it in the battle of 2022.
Thursday, 03 December 2020 | PNS | Dehradun
