Saturday, 29 JUNE 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The war of words among the senior leaders of Uttarakhand Congress over the defeat of party candidates in all the five Lok Sabha constituencies of the State is still escalating. After the debacle of the party in the LS elections many leaders of the Uttarakhand including the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara have publically opined on many occasions that the results would have been better had the senior leaders contested the elections.
Responding to these comments, the former chief minister Harish Rawat said on Thursday that the senior leaders would have made no difference in the LS result in Uttarakhand. He however added that the victory margin of the BJP candidates would have been less in the eventuality of senior leaders contesting the LS elections.
In response to a question by the media persons on the issue, the PCC president Karan Mahara said on Friday that he firmly believes that the score line would be in the favour of Congress if the senior leaders contested the elections. “The score line would have been 4-1 in favour of Congress in Uttarakhand. Senior leaders should have contested the LS elections and shown the way to the party in tough times,’’ he said.
Mahara’s comment clearly shows that he is questioning the decision of senior leaders Harish Rawat, leader of opposition Yashpal Arya and former PCC president Pritam Singh of not contesting the LS elections and is branding them as those who preferred to flee from the battleground instead of leading the charge.
His statement also assumes importance in the wake of the expected arrival of the members of the fact finding committee set up by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. The committee will assess the poor performance of the party in the LS elections.
It is pertinent to mention here that the party leadership wanted to field former CM Harish Rawat from Haridwar, LoP Yashpal Arya from Almora (SC) and former PCC president Pritam Singh from Tehri Lok Sabha constituencies. However all the three senior leaders declined the offer.
