Wednesday, 13 April 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Within days of the Congress party appointing new Pradesh Congress Committee president, leader and deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in the state, discontent has escalated in the party. While the former leader of opposition and Chakrata MLA Pritam Singh offered to resign if he is found responsible for alleged factionalism which weakened the party’s performance in the recently Assembly elections, other MLAs of the party are reportedly miffed at the choice of the party’s central leadership for the three important posts. However, the new PCC chief Karan Mahara has stressed that all is well within the party.
Late on Sunday evening, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) had appointed Karan Mahara as the Uttarakhand PCC president while Yashpal Arya was made the CLP leader and Bhuwan Chandra Kapri was made the deputy leader of the CLP. This soon sparked off discontent among some of the party leaders and their followers. The other contenders for the post of CLP leader including MLAs Pritam Singh, Rajendra Bhandari and Harish Dhami and their followers were disappointed following the decision though the leaders refrained from openly stating as much. However, there has been talk of the Garhwal region being ignored by the party’s central leadership as all the three important posts of the party were given to leaders from the Kumaon region. On Monday, Singh stated that if allegations of factionalism against him are proven true in a party probe, he will resign from the membership of the Assembly. Meanwhile, amidst much speculation on between six to 10 MLAs planning to hold a meeting in Dehradun on Wednesday to plan their future course of action, party leaders have maintained that this is only speculation. Mahara and Arya have met senior leaders of the party in the state and stated that all the party leaders are committed to making the party stronger in Uttarakhand. Arya also met the previous CLP leader Singh in Dehradun. During the evening, party workers shared sweets and burst fireworks at the Congress Bhawan to celebrate Mahara’s appointment to the post of the PCC president. On the other hand, observers are questioning the silence on social media of the senior party leader and former chief minister Harish Rawat who is quite active on social media but has not commented on the recent appointments.
