Uttarakhand: Trouble for Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat as discontent brews in BJP state unit

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 7

In what appears to be trouble for Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, the BJP leadership is expected to take a call on his continuing in that capacity on the basis of party vice-president Raman Singh’s feedback from his sudden and unscheduled core committee meeting in Dehradun on Saturday.

Raman Singh is believed to have conveyed the “seriousness of the situation” to the leadership.

Sources said the BJP leadership is “worried about continuing discontent” against Rawat, which can be gauged over the way Raman Singh, general secretary in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam and others were dispatched to talk to MLAs and state leaders over the state-of-affairs there. Apparently, there were apprehensions about all of it “spilling out in the open” amid the ongoing Assembly elections, a reason why observers were sent in such a hurry to “handle” the situation.

Apart from the “general discontent” about Rawat’s way of functioning, it seems members of the Sangh parivaar too are upset over some decisions of his government. Meanwhile, a few Congress party’s imports in the BJP are also threatening to jump ship ahead of Assembly polls next year, spelling trouble for the ruling BJP in the face of the “growing influence” of Aam Aadmi Party in the state.

Though officially BJP leaders downplayed the hurriedly convened meeting while the Budget session was on in Gairsain (the third administrative division of the state which is another reason for discontent), speculations are rife about “major change” in the government. Amid speculations over the next chief minister—names of union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Member Party Anil Baluni, state cabinet minister Satpal Maharaj, Uttarakhand BJP general secretary Suresh Bhatt, and Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar MP Ajay Bhatt are doing the rounds as being contenders for the position—senior leaders here say that “all options are open”.  A point of view also is that since the state is due for Assembly elections next year, the leadership should try to “calm down the situation” through “other ways, including the expansion of the cabinet”.

There are also speculations about a legislative party meeting being called.

Sources said Raman Singh talked separately to each member of the core group, visited chief minister’s official residence and also the RSS office after the meeting. While several MPs, MLAs, and ministers are believed to have spoken against the chief minister, a few also supported him.

Though state BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat said the core group meeting discussed celebrations to be held in 70 assembly constituencies in the state on March 18 to mark the completion of the BJP government’s four years in office, sources said members of the Sangh Parivar are equally unhappy with Rawat over his government’s move to “take-over temples”. They had also expressed displeasure over the opening of a liquor-bottling plant and slaughterhouse in the religious city of Haridwar. Though the government later withdrew the order to open the abattoir, the Sangh is upset over the arrangements for the Kumbh Mela.

Meanwhile, sources said that the leadership had planned a review of states soon after the Lok Sabha elections when vote share in states like Haryana, Jharkhand, Delhi, Maharashtra dropped by eight to 22 per cent compared to the Lok Sabha elections. However, the state-wise review strategy got delayed due to corona-pandemic.