Bahuguna as Uttarakhand chief minister on Tuesday evening has been postponed.
New Delhi: The Congress is facing a full blown rebellion in Uttarakhand after the party decided to sideline several senior leaders and make Tehri Garhwal MP Vijay Bahuguna, son of late party leader Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, the next chief minister of the state.
After Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat, who was seen as a frontrunner for the chief minister's post, offered to resign from the Cabinet and wrote a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi that he would like to work just as an ordinary worker, the party high command has decided to step in to quell the rebellion.
Sonia Gandhi will chair a meeting at 10 Janpath with senior party leader and those from Uttarakhand including Harish Rawat to find a solution. The meeting will be attended by Uttarakhand Congress leaders Yashpal Arya, Harak Singh Rawat and Congress in-charge of the state, Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Bahuguna, who was to be sworn in as Uttarakhand chief minister on Tuesday evening in Dehradun, has been called back to New Delhi to attend the meeting.
"This will be a turning point in Uttarakhand politics. If the situation remains like this, then I do not think the Congress government will be able to last long in the state. The sentiments of the people on the ground have been overlooked," said Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat.
Almora MP and Harish Rawat loyalist Pradeep Tamta said that the party's decision to ignore Rawnt was not fair.
"I know that Harish Rawat has written a letter to Sonia Gandhi. The decision to not make him the chief minister is unfair and unjust," said Tamta.
Meanwhile, sources told CNN-IBN that Harish Rawat is reportedly in touch with some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Uttarakhand. He is also meeting MLAs loyal to him with sources saying that at least 14 legislators are backing him.
This is the second time that Rawat's claim has been ignored as almost 10 years ago ND Tiwari was made the chief minister at the last moment by the party leadership.
Rawat, representing Hardwar constituency in the Lok Sabha, was a strong contender for the post.
Hailing from Almora in Uttarakhand, Rawat was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1980. He served as the president of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee from 2000 to 2002 and is reportedly upset at being overlooked by the party high command. Rawat claims to have the support of at least 17 MLAs in Uttarakhand Assembly.
The Congress managed to win 32 seats in the just concluded Uttarakhand Assembly elections, which has 70 members. The BJP came a close second with 31 seats and the Congress has been invited by the Governor because three independents and three Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs pledged their support to the party.
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