If Congress is really hopeful to stage a comeback in Ukhand in 2022, unity is inevitable.

While the assembly elections are due for March, April 2022 in Uttarakhand both the national parties viz. Congress and BJP have tightened their belts to move forward with vigour and vitality with BJP claiming to repeat its government coming back to power and Congress guaranteeing BJP’s defeat with its thumping victory by all means. However, both the parties are ration ridden with dissent cropping up within its leaders and lawmakers especially in the ruling party after change of three CMs in just 3.5 months making Pushkar Singh Dhami a new CM leaving behind the senior n deserving aspirants. In Congress party factionalism seems to be cropping up between the current state chief Pritam Singh and the former CM Harish Rawat, both eyeing on the chief minister’s chair with the latter emphasising on declaration of a prospective CM face of Uttarakhand before elections.

However the present Congress chief including the in-charge of Uttarakhand affairs n secretary national Congress have already denied Rawat’s proposal saying that the party will contest the 2022 elections in Uttarakhand taking into account the formula of United leadership leaving the selection of the CM on the forthcoming results in case the party procures majority numbers of newly elected MLAs in 2022.

The former president of Uttarakhand Congress Kishore Upadhyay who considers Harish Rawat as his bete noire has while speaking to a news channel catagorically said that unfortunately veteran leader and a stalwart of Uttarakhand Congress Indira Hridayesh has passed away otherwise she would have been the first woman chief minister of Uttarakhand.

He added that nobody new that the cruel hands of destiny will snatch her from us at such a crucial time. On a question of declaring a prospective CM face before the 2022 election, Kishore Upadhyay who had earlier blamed Harish Rawat for ditching him, not supporting his candidature for Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand earlier, said that it is not important whether to fight the election on collective leadership or declare a future CM but working hard ensuring party’s victory is more important and significant.

He without naming Harish Rawat’s name indirectly pointed a finger towards him that the then chief minister of Uttarakhand Vijay Bahuguna’s replacement not allowing him to function and rehabilitate the 2013 Kedarnath victims was a childish and bad decision orchestrated with vested interests. This should not have happened said the former Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay. Kindly recall that three years after his unceremonious exit as chief minister with Harish Rawat coming in, exasperated Vijay Bahuguna joined BJP alongwith nine Congress MLAs.

On the contrary the Vice President of Uttarakhand Congress Jot Singh Bisht said that former CM Harish Rawat is the best choice of Uttarakhand who had worked hard and with immense dedication to carryout various innovative and repairs works of Kedarnath, including providing relief to the victims of the ecological disaster of 2013. Harish Rawat has popularised the delicious traditional food internationally and led the state towards all round development compounded with enhancing employment opportunities and pleasing all sections of the society with his pro people achievements. He said Harish Rawat is the ultimate choice of the people of Uttarakhand. It may be recalled that the Uttarakhand chief Pritam Singh and his cohorts were stay put in Delhi for several days emphasising on the high command to declare Pritam Singh as the future CM of Delhi by giving the entire command of the state in his hands. There were also rumours of change in state leadership with Harish Rawat’s faction wanting to make the state Congress chief of their choice to ensure that maximum of their candidates are allocated party tickets in the ensuing elections.

This factionalism unambiguously makes Uttarakhand Congress a divided house with two factions, one led by Congress’s national general secretary and former CM Harish Rawat n another by the current party chief Pritam Singh. After the death of former opposition leader in Uttarakhand assembly and veteran leader Dr. Indira Hridayesh who was with Pritam Singh but herself a string contender for the chief minister’s post despite being octogenarian has now narrowed the straight fight between the present Congress chief Pritam Singh and heavyweight former UK CM Harish Rawat with former Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay also posing a political threat to Rawat.

If Congress really needs to come victorious in 2022 assembly elections its leaders should give up their narrow vested interests and come together heartily n earnestly to challenge BJP unitedly say politically analysts. What’s your take friends.