PNS | DEHRADUN
The Pithoragarh mayoral election has deepened the fissure lines in Uttarakhand Congress. Here the local strongman and three time MLA Mayukh Mahar has openly challenged the party by extending support to the Congress rebel Monika Mahar. In Pithoragarh, the Congress has fielded Anju Lunthi for the position of mayor. Interestingly the vice president of the Uttarakhand Congress Mathuradutt Joshi has already left the party following denial of the mayoral ticket to his wife.
The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara is actively campaigning for Lunthi and has thrown the gauntlet to the party MLA Mahar to resign. He has also recommended to the party high command to take disciplinary action against the MLA who is openly supporting an independent candidate. In a public meeting, Mahara accused Mahar of leaving the battlefield in the Vidhan Sabha by-election of 2019. The by-election was necessitated after the death of then Finance minister Prakash Pant. I
n this election the BJP had fielded Chandra Pant, the wife of late Prakash Pant while the Congress, following the denial of Mahar to contest, gave ticket to Lunthi. The PCC president said in the public meeting in Pithoragarh that despite a strong sympathy factor, Lunthi put up a spirited fight and lost the election by a thin margin. He said that instead of supporting Luthi, MLA Mahar is supporting the wife of Rishabh Mahar, who was an upcoming young leader of the Congress party. Continuing the diatribe on Mahar, the PCC President said that he got major mining contracts during the regime of the Congress party.
Responding to the attack, Mahar said that there was a powerful person who was close to the most prominent leader of the party who used to demand money for the mining contracts. He said that the mining contracts were given after payment of bribes at that time.
The internal bickering in the Congress party is expected to benefit BJP in Pithoragarh which has fielded Chandrakala Mahar as its mayoral candidate.
The political advisor of the PCC president Amarjeet Singh said that the PCC president has recommended the party high command to take disciplinary action against Mayukh Mahar.
