Thursday, 20 January 2022 | Gajendra Singh Negi | Dehradun
Lesson Learnt
The period prior to the elections is the crucial phase when the innate instincts of many politicians guide them to change their political habitat. Done either for political survival or to gain additional pound of flesh, the politicians always claim to do it for the larger public or even national interest. However an anticlimax of sorts occurred for two prominent politicians, the mercurial Harak Singh Rawat and Gandhi family’s old faithful Kishore Upadhyaya in the Himalayan state recently. In both cases the political parties checkmated their defection moves by taking disciplinary actions against them. While Harak was removed from cabinet and membership of BJP, the Congress divested Kishore from all party posts. These pre-emptive strikes reduced the bargaining capability of both these leaders which left them high and dry. Chastised, Upadhyaya is learnt to have sought apology and would remain in Congress albeit with reduced stature. On the other hand Harak who has no other option but to join Congress is at the mercy of Harish Rawat whose government was toppled by him in the coup of 2016.
Harak Hoodwinked?
Amid the entire hullabaloo associated with the episode of sacking of Harak Singh Rawat from BJP and Dhami cabinet, the story making rounds is that he was double crossed by a MLA who was with him in Delhi when the party took action. This MLA who was among the nine turncoats in the infamous coup of 2016 against Harish Rawat was considered very close to Harak and it was generally believed that he would follow him wherever he went. An emotional leader he is, Harak is said to have confided everything to this MLA. Harak Singh Rawat’s sympathizers are now claiming that this confidante proved to be a double agent who informed the BJP leadership about every step of Harak Singh Rawat. On the inputs given by this leader the leadership of the saffron party removed the tarmac from below the feet of Harak when he was about to meet Congress high command in Delhi. The powerful leader must now be cursing him for having blindly trusted someone who actually turned out to be a foe.
Priyanka’s Warrior
As the president of the Mahila Morcha of the Uttarakhand Congress, Sarita Arya was ardently following Priyanka Gandhi and was taking her war cry ‘Ladki Hun Lad Sakti Hun’ forward in the Himalayan state. She was pressing for 20 per cent of the tickets to women in the Congress party in the assembly elections. However when she realized that her own ticket was in jeopardy she didn’t wait for the Congress party to release the list of the candidates and jumped to the bandwagon of the saffron party. Arya now is the BJP’s candidate from Nainital where in all probability she will take on Sanjeev Arya, the son of Yashpal Arya. The father son duo had recently come back to Congress after tasting saffron power for four and half years. Interestingly while BJP has blessed the turncoat Arya it has denied ticket to its own Ritu Khanduri who apart from being daughter of former CM Major General ( Rtd) B C Khanduri happens to be the head of female wing of Uttarakhand BJP.
