State Congress is yet to constitute its new executive
Gajendra Singh Negi/ Dehradun
The cabinet expansion done by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday has put pressure on the Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal to announce his new State executive soon.
Godiyal took over the reins of the State Congress from Karan Mahara in November 2025. Facing the daunting challenge of bringing the party back to power in the Himalayan State after a gap of 10 years, Godiyal is working overtime to infuse energy into the party rank and file. He is also trying to bring new faces in the PCC and create a dedicated team in the run up for the Vidhan Sabha elections expected to be held in February 2027 but his efforts to set in place his new team has not yielded any result yet.
Pertinently, the PCC has not been reconstituted ever since Godiyal took over the post of PCC president in his first tenure in the year 2021. When he took over the command of the party from Pritam Singh on July 22, 2021, he continued with the old PCC which was constituted by his predecessor. After the defeat of the party in the Vidhan Sabha polls of 2022, Godiyal was replaced by Karan Mahara by the party high command. Mahara functioned as the PCC chief for a period of about three and half years but he too failed to constitute his team.
Party insiders point out that due to internal dynamics of the party which has senior leaders such as former CM Harish Rawat, leader of opposition Yashpal Arya, former PCC presidents Pritam Singh and Karan Mahara, the successive PCC chiefs have failed to constitute their team. “It is no secret that all the senior leaders want to push their confidants into the PCC which will make a jumbo PCC, something which the party high command doesn’t want,’’ said a party leader on condition of anonymity.
While the State unit of the party is struggling to constitute the PCC, the ruling BJP has everything set in place for the battle of Vidhan Sabha elections of 2027. Balancing regional and caste equations, CM Dhami has filled all the vacant posts in his cabinet. He is also expected to soon appoint two dozen position holders accommodating senior leaders. It is also clear that the BJP will go to the polls under the leadership of CM Dhami and state BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt.
In such a situation, the sympathisers of the Congress party are hoping that the party will soon get its act together and Godiyal will be able to constitute his new team.
When contacted by The Pioneer, the PCC president Godiyal said that a new state executive will soon be constituted. “ We had submitted the list to the party high command last month but probably due to the preoccupation of central leaders with the Vidhan Sabha elections in some states, things are getting delayed,’’ he said. Godiyal however claimed that the party high command will clear the list in two three days.
