Dehradun: After being decimated in the latest state polls and reduced to 11 lawmakers in the 70-member assembly, Congress is banking heavily on the anti-nomination factor to make a comeback in the Himalayan state. However, feuds between his top brass are likely to have a major chilling effect on the process.
Recently, a tweet from former CM Harish Rawat rocked the hornet’s nest and highlighted the latent issue of differences among key leaders. Although this was not the only isolated incident, which highlighted the tiff among the main leaders of the opposition party.
Former head of state Kishore Upadhyay has sometimes raised the question of his ignorance during Pritam Singh’s tenure as head of the state Congress. Members of the Harish Rawat camp have recently raised strong objections to the appointment of a few party members as incumbent chairman and other key positions. To make matters worse, former CM Rawat remained strongly in favor of appointing a CM face, but on the other side Pritam Singh and the state official were opposed to the idea.
Former CM Harish Rawat told TOI: “It is not about differences between party leaders, but about individuals with different opinions. It is the beauty of our party that everyone can express their point of view. Even today, I am in favor of a CM face. The party has made a call and we will all follow it.
Opposition leader Pritam Singh, in a similar vein, has denied any quarrel. “We were told that a CM face would be announced after winning the election, therefore there is no possibility of differences,” Singh said.