Tiwari's loss is not Rawat's gain

While Chief Minister ND Tiwari has been pulling strings to shift out of Uttaranchal, the Congress High Command's views remain unclear.

This has dashed the hopes of PCC chief Harish Rawat, who has sacrificed a berth in the Union Cabinet in the hope that he will succeed Tiwari.

Tiwari's statement at a function two days ago that he would not contest any election betrayed his frustration. While Tiwari is a reluctant CM, Rawat is a desperate aspirant, who has been waiting in the wings since he missed the bus after the last Assembly elections. The two do not see eye to eye.

Between the two, however, Rawat is the bigger loser. His name was proposed for a Cabinet berth in the last reshuffle but he made himself incommunicado, hoping to make it to the top post in Uttaranchal, sources in the Congress said.

On the eve of the oath-taking ceremony in New Delhi, there were frantic efforts to contact Rawat, but he was nowhere to be found. He managed to offend Congress President Sonia Gandhi by not going by the plans she had for him, said sources.

Tiwari has been building up pressure on the High Command to recall Rawat from Uttaranchal but in vain. The PCC chief was also conspicuous by his absence from the Congress plenary session in Hyderabad early this year.

Last month, Tiwari went on record saying he had sent his resignation to the Congress president as he was no longer interested in the job. The letter apparently never reached Sonia.

Tiwari is said to be interested in a Rajya Sabha seat but the Congress High Command apparently is no mood to oblige. Bringing him to New Delhi could create all sorts of "complications" for many senior leaders in the party, sources said. The party may accommodate him as a Governor but it is not known whether he will take the bait.