 "Satpal effect? Rawat tries to placate Bahuguna")
After Satpal Maharaj, member of Parliament form Pauri, switched sides in the midst of the poll battle, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has started efforts to demolish the wall that separates him from his immediate neighbour Vijay Bahuguna at the famed Bijapur Guest House complex here, albeit politically.
Breaking the ice, Rawat on Saturday went for a lunch with his political rival and former chief minister Bahuguna. Besides, 13 other party members of the Legislative Assembly, mostly from the Bahuguna camp, also joined the two leaders for the lunch. The two leaders claimed the exercise was part of the efforts to gear up for the general election and repeat the 2009 feat when the Congress party had won all the five Lok Sabha seats.
But top Congress leaders said the move was also part of Rawat’s endeavour to placate Bahuguna at a time when the party was yet to recover from the damage by the exit of Maharaj, who has a considerable following in the Garhwal region. But it was not yet clear how long the bonhomie between Rawat and Bahuguna would last. “We are united and Congress will crush the Bharatiya Janata Party in the election,” said Rawat, after warming up with Bahuguna.
On the other hand, sources close to Rawat said Bahuguna was seeking coveted posts for his supporters as a quid pro quo following the change of guard last month. This includes the post of state party president and that of the Assembly speaker.
Meanwhile, the statement of Maharaj’s wife and state Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat that she will not leave Congress is also being seen as a positive development in the hour of crisis. However, a section of party leaders has asked the chief minister to remove Amrita from the Cabinet since she last month opposed him bitterly in the crucial CLP meet where he was elected the new leader.
However, Rawat is not in a mood to remove Amrita immediately. “Our focus should be on the development of floods-affected areas and win all the five Lok Sabha seats,” said Rawat.
Meanwhile, top Congress leaders said there was no danger to the Congress-led government after Maharaj’s decision to join BJP.
Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), a pressure group of two BSP and four independent MLAs which is sharing power with Congress in the coalition government has also decided not to take any negative step as of now.
Breaking the ice, Rawat on Saturday went for a lunch with his political rival and former chief minister Bahuguna. Besides, 13 other party members of the Legislative Assembly, mostly from the Bahuguna camp, also joined the two leaders for the lunch. The two leaders claimed the exercise was part of the efforts to gear up for the general election and repeat the 2009 feat when the Congress party had won all the five Lok Sabha seats.
But top Congress leaders said the move was also part of Rawat’s endeavour to placate Bahuguna at a time when the party was yet to recover from the damage by the exit of Maharaj, who has a considerable following in the Garhwal region. But it was not yet clear how long the bonhomie between Rawat and Bahuguna would last. “We are united and Congress will crush the Bharatiya Janata Party in the election,” said Rawat, after warming up with Bahuguna.
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Rawat had bitterly opposed the party high command’s move to nominate Bahuguna as CM of the hill state in 2012.
On the other hand, sources close to Rawat said Bahuguna was seeking coveted posts for his supporters as a quid pro quo following the change of guard last month. This includes the post of state party president and that of the Assembly speaker.
Meanwhile, the statement of Maharaj’s wife and state Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat that she will not leave Congress is also being seen as a positive development in the hour of crisis. However, a section of party leaders has asked the chief minister to remove Amrita from the Cabinet since she last month opposed him bitterly in the crucial CLP meet where he was elected the new leader.
However, Rawat is not in a mood to remove Amrita immediately. “Our focus should be on the development of floods-affected areas and win all the five Lok Sabha seats,” said Rawat.
Meanwhile, top Congress leaders said there was no danger to the Congress-led government after Maharaj’s decision to join BJP.
Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), a pressure group of two BSP and four independent MLAs which is sharing power with Congress in the coalition government has also decided not to take any negative step as of now.