Allegations, counter allegations begin in Cong after stunning defeat

By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 14 Mar: Allegations, counter allegations have begun in Congress after its stunning defeat in Uttarakhand Assembly elections. Just two days after the election results, the internal squabble within the party is now coming to the surface. Party leaders have started blaming each other for the defeat. It is the second straight defeat for the Congress in the assembly elections in Uttarakhand. Earlier, the Congress had to face defeat in the 2017 assembly elections.
With BJP providing mediocre governance in the past 5 years as well as changing the chief ministers frequently, the Congress was hoping for a strong return to power in the state in 2022, but the party failed to capitalise on the weaknesses of the ruling party. Though the tally of seats has gone up in 2022 as compared to 2017, with an increase in the vote share, it still falls way short of the majority.
Harish Rawat, who headed the election campaign committee as its chairman and was a strong contender for the post of CM, lost his own election from Lalkuan with a huge margin of 16,000 plus votes. Accepting the responsibility for his defeat, he has strongly rebutted the allegations levelled against him by the outgoing Leader of the Opposition, Pritam Singh, as well as his one time confidante, Ranjit Rawat. PCC President Ganesh Godiyal has also taken moral responsibility for this defeat, but the Congress leaders are now still accusing the two of election mismanagement and wrong distribution of tickets.
Ranjit Rawat has openly blamed his one time political mentor, Harish Rawat, for the party’s defeat. He reminded that he had been preparing to contest the election from Ramnagar and yet the ticket was first given to Harish Rawat and though that was also changed, he (Ranjit Rawat) was made to contest from Salt.
After the election results did not come in favour of Congress, now Leader of Opposition Pritam Singh has raised many questions on former CM Harish Rawat without naming him. He claimed that someone else had worked hard and sown the seeds but others came to reap the harvest. It is being implied that Ranjit Rawat was preparing from the Ramnagar seat for the last five years, but his ticket was cut at the last minute and Harish Rawat was declared a contender from there. Though, after a ruckus following this, Harish Rawat was was sent to Lalkuan and Ranjit Rawat to Salt as candidates. The party has lost both the seats.
Pritam Singh has declared that the Muslim University was not an issue, but the BJP deliberately turned this into one and the Congress was hurt by this issue. He however admitted that the person who raised the demand for the Muslim University was made the vice-president and termed this a wrong decision. He also said that the party could not properly present its stand before the public in this matter. Pritam said that the defeat the party suffered was not expected. The kind of enthusiasm people were showing for the Congress before the elections did not translate into votes. He also admitted that there was a mistake in the distribution of tickets. However, he also added that Harish Rawat was a senior leader and election loss would affect his stature. He also claimed BJP never fulfilled the promises it made but it still managed to retain power by coining new slogans.
There is also speculation within the party about the possible resignation of state president Ganesh Godiyal. According to party sources, Ganesh Godiyal himself took the initiative, taking responsibility for the defeat, but was persuaded by some senior party leaders to stay.
Hira Singh Bist has also blamed the party for his defeat. Speaking to Harish Rawat, he reminded that, when he was seeking ticket from Raipur in the year 2012, he was sent to Doiwala. Now when he prepared for five years in Doiwala, he was again asked to fight from Raipur. He, however, added that being a senior leader of the party, he was not very ambitious any more but his feelings were not considered.