Speculations rife about change in Uttarakhand’s leadership. State BJP chief Bansidhar Bhagat, MP RS, Naresh Bansal strongly deny rumours

Speculations are rife in Uttarakhand’s media and political circles that the incumbent chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is being replaced, especially after an emergency visit of the two central observers to Dehradun today. However, there are also unconfirmed reports of possible expansion/ reshuffle in the ministry.

However, the Uttarakhand’s BJP chief Bansidhar Bhagat and Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal has strongly refuted the rumours about the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat being replaced, in view of the fast approaching assembly elections and alleged reports about his weak leadership including factionalism in the state party as well as among saffron party lawmakers silently demanding his exit from the chief minister’s post.

The news about alleged replacement of the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat started appearing in news channels since afternoon after the BJP’s senior leaders deputed by the high command reached Dehradun issuing instructions to the party MLAs n all ministers including important office bearers ( core group) to reach Dehradun on extreme urgent basis. According to the latest news the union education minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has also reached Dehradun, giving strength to the speculations about the possible change in state leadership say sources.

The budget session held at Gairsain ended today abruptly where the chief minister had presented the state budget of 57 thousand crores on 4th day of the budget session in Gairsain’s summer capital assembly.

After the speculation of the supposed departure of Trivendra Singh Rawat, there were hectic activities in the state capital in the BJP corridors with names of Ajay Bhatt, MP, Anil Baluni, MP , union HRD minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Satpal Maharaj cropping up as possible strong contenders in lieu of Mr. Rawat.

The central party observers viz former Chattisgarh CM Raman Singh and BJP national general secretary in-charge, Uttarakhand BJP Dushyant Gautam held a meeting with the party MLAs and office bearers including the chief minister in Dehradun and discussed issues pertaining to the functioning of the the party and state government during the last four years said the state president Bansidhar Bhagat and RS MP Naresh Bansal putting at rest all the speculations regarding the change in state’s leadership. Speaking to Media Bansidhar Bhagat catagorically said that there is no change of leadership in the state and the present CM Rawat will continue as before.

Meanwhile, the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today afternoon called a meeting of party lawmakers in his residential office at Dehradun and interacted with them in detail instructing MLAs to propagate the achievements of the party’s four year tenure at the grass root level to acquaint people of the state of its various welfare measures and pro people achievements from March 18 onwards.

It may be recalled that there had been lot of speculations in the media and party circles since the last few months about the possible change in state’s chief ministership with names of Anil Baluni, Ajay Bhatt and Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank doing rounds in the state, especially after the present CM Trivendra Singh Rawat was ranked as the worst and lowest popular CM amongst all the CMs of India in some news reports.

There are also reports of corruption including increasing unemployment, worsening health services and domination of alleged liquor n mining mafia ruling the roost with the state’s fiscal deficit crossing over Rs 48000 crores and the state paying more than six thousand crores annually as interest against credit taken as loan from various international and national agencies.

Kindly also recall that when Major General (retired) Khanduri was the state CM five years ago he too was replaced as chief minister a year before the election with Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank taking the cudgels of the state in his hand.

The same experiment seems to being repleted in the state say reliable sources though strongly denied by the state BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat and Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal.

The state BJP is in grip of factionalism with a group of MLAs having approached the party high command few months ago demanding the ouster of chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.

While the party high command had then not entertained these rebels but sources reveal that after the increasing factionalism in the state unit including disenchantment among BJP lawmakers demanding change in leadership with the party witnessing degradation of its image amongst the state’s electorates especially in view of the incoming elections approaching near fast, the high command wants to interact with the state lawmakers n party office bearers to assess the winning chances of BJP in the ensuing elections under the present state CM’s leadership failing which one among the strong contenders viz Ajay Bhatt, Anil Baluni ( MPS) n union minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank may replace him at the earliest. It may be recalled that few months ago the state CM’s position was in jeopardy when the High court had allegedly questioned his integrity in a case related to Jharkhand pertaining to involvement of his relatives in depositing money in their accounts on his behalf, later on getting retired from supreme court. The BJP’s reputation was further degraded when on the first day of budget session on March 1 hundreds of demonstrators including women demanding widening of roads of Dewalikhal, Nandghat, were brutally lathi charged with the vedios showing the police brutality going viral in social media. The present government in the hilly state had also come into controversy when last year it had granted licences to grocery shop owners to sell liquor fulfilling the Rs 50 lakh annual turnover criteria n allegedly opening liquor vends and selling liquor in mobile vans n trucks in the interiors of Uttarakhand inviting tremendous criticism from the masses, especially women.