Cong factionalism damaging campaign in Tehri Constituency

By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 2 Mar: The Congress is falling behind the BJP in election campaigning owing to factionalism and a weak organisational structure in the Tehri LS Constituency. BJP supporters can be seen in plenty in the urban areas with party banners, while the Congress visibility is very poor.
During Harish Rawat’s chief ministership, a large number of Congress stalwarts had defected to the BJP. The party has still not recovered from the blow. The lack of mass leaders is beginning to hurt. Those who remain are jostling for leadership roles in the party. After the massive defeat in the assembly elections, former minster and Chakrata MLA Pritam Singh was appointed state Party President by the High Command and Leader of the Opposition Dr Indira Hridayesh was considered his ally. On the other hand, former State President Kishore Upadhyay lined up with Harish Rawat. Both factions are vying for domination, because of which the campaign against the BJP is suffering.
On its part, the BJP organisation has strengthened its hold down to the booth level. Although tickets have been distributed by the Congress, the campaign is failing to take off owing to the in-party rivalry. According to party sources, this has badly affected the workers’ morale, particularly those who have seen better days. Tehri candidate Pritam Singh is finding himself increasingly isolated as the message is not going through to the voters. It is further hampered by the fact that he lacks a personal following in VS constituencies other than Chakrata. This is made worse by the disciplined and united thrust of the BJP. This does not augur well for the final result on counting day.