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Friday, Feb 16, 2007
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National

National

Rivalry spoiling Congress chances

Special Correspondent

Though the BJP house is no better, the situation there is not as alarming

Haridwar (Uttarakhand): The ongoing "cold war" between Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari and Uttarakhand Congress Committee president Harish Rawat and how they are avoiding a joint election campaign is the talk of the town. This coupled with allegations that many of the party rebels were getting support from either of the factions has not helped matters as Congress battles to retain power in the hill State.

Although the BJP is also faced with something of that sort the proportion of the problem there is not alarming. Both former Union Minister and party's best bet for the post of Chief Minister, B.C. Khandoori and former Chief Minister Bhagat Ram Koshari have addressed joint meetings in different parts of the State along with the party in-charge Ravi Shankar Prasad sending a message of unity.

On the other hand, Mr. Tiwari and Mr. Rawat were supposed to share the same platform during the visits of the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on February 13 and 14. However, the cancellation of both visits due to freaky weather could not make this possible. Coupled with this, the sidelining of senior Congress leader Satpal Maharaj is something that has further complicated the situation for the party. At loggerheads for the past five years, both leaders and their supporters refuse to call peace and have alleged internal sabotage against candidates belonging to each other's factions. Publicly both refuse to acknowledge this and promise to work together.

A large number of public meetings scheduled to be addressed by both leaders on February 11, 12 and 13 in Tehri, Uttarakashi, New Tehri, Tanakpur, Khatima, Kripansain, Purola and Pratapnagar were cancelled by the Chief Minister at the last minute citing "bad weather." Interestingly, Mr. Rawat managed to reach majority of these places despite the "bad weather" giving an impression that Mr. Tiwari was not only a reluctant campaigner but was also not wanting to share public platform with his bete noire. "Mr. Tiwari is the Sachin Tendulkar of the Congress in Utttarakhand. Whether he performs or not is not the question. But he is certainly going to be part of the victory if the team wins," Mr. Rawat remarked sarcastically when asked about the cold war.

Interestingly, during the release of the Congress manifesto last week, Mr. Tiwari, with tears rolling down his eyes, had stated that this was his last big meeting with the media and he did not want to carry on as the Chief Minister. However, only a few days later he stated that he would abide by the decision of the party high command. "He is creating a very difficult situation for the party. His absence and continued uncertainty over leadership issue has badly affected the party and its campaign. The divide is very clear and does not augur well for the ruling Congress," a senior Congress leader remarked.

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