The ruling Congress in Uttarakhand on Wednesday got a boost after chief minister Vijay Bahuguna won from Sitarganj with a record margin that increased its total tally to 33 in the 70-member House.
However, with the defeat of BJP’s candidate Prakash Pant, the strength of the saffron party has been reduced to 30 in the House where three Independents, three of BSP and one lone member of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) are supporting the ruling Congress.
“The victory of Congress in Sitarganj will strengthen the position of Bahuguna immensely in the hill state as the main opposition BJP has been given a severe drubbing by voters,” said Suryakant Dhasmana, state Congress vice-president.
The election results on March 6 had given a fractured mandate in Uttarakhand with Congress winning 32 seats followed closely by BJP with 31 seats.
But after the results, all the seven non-BJP MLAs supported the Congress in government formation with the high command bringing in Mr Bahuguna to head the state.
In May, BJP MLA Kiran Mandal resigned from Sitarganj to facilitate his election from the area and “for the sake of development of his constituency”.
Congress sources said “Mr Mandal would now get a red-beacon fitted car”, a sign of ministerial-level post in the hill state.
With Wednesday’s victory, Mr Bahuguna is likely to increase his hold on the ruling Congress vis-à-vis that of his bete noire Harish Rawat, who wanted to become chief minister.
Though Mr Bahguna has ruled out any Cabinet reshuffle, the sources said any such move cannot be ruled out in the next two to three months. “Obviously, Bahuguna will give some key posts to his own supporters, who have got nothing so far,” said a top Congress leader.
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Chavan aides fail to meet sonia
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, July 11
Supporters of former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on Wednesday failed to get an audience of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
Instead, they were asked to meet the AICC in-charge for the state Mohan Prakash.
Supporters of Mr Chavan are restless ever since Mr Chavan was removed from the chief ministership after the alleged scam in the Adarsha housing society in Mumbai.
In fact a group of 40 legislators were said to have raised the issue in a Congress Legislature Party meeting held in Mumbai recently.
If Congress insiders are to be believed, the party legislators are unsure of winning the next Assembly election on the Congress ticket because they feel the current chief minister Prathviraj Chavan continues to be inaccessible and not showing any interest in the public works suggested by the party legislators.
“He (Prithviraj Chavan) was brought to Mumbai as the CM against the backdrop of the Adarsh scam and he will continue to remain there as long as the scam is alive. He is not bothered about the party nor improving governance,” viewed the Congress leaders.