Is it time for another Dalit chief minister of Congress after Punjab? sources say Rahul Gandhi And Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is eager to repeat her Punjab move in Uttarakhand next year as well, though no final decision has been taken yet.
Fueling the speculation was the return of veteran leader and once veteran Congress leader Yashpal Arya and his son to the party. Arya’s return to the Congress, a Dalit leader, was a setback for both the BJP and Congress veteran Harish Rawat, who were hoping to become the CM candidate despite being busy with complicated matters in Punjab.
Rawat, the former Uttarakhand CM, was moved from Punjab to the AICC headquarters when Arya joined the Congress after meeting the Gandhi family. Party sources told News18 that Arya had three rounds of discussions with the Gandhi family, who were keen to have him on the board.
Read also | ‘I pray to the almighty, to Maa Ganga…’: Harish Rawat to a Dalit CM in Uttarakhand
Harish Rawat was made the chief minister of the hill state in February 2014, after Vijay Bahuguna was forced to deal with the devastating floods last year. But the Rawat government fell in March 2016 when nine MLAs resigned to join the BJP. The state was then placed under President’s rule and the BJP came to power in the 2017 elections.
The Congress is now yearning for a comeback after the BJP replaced three chief ministers in the state, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also made inroads.
The entry of Yashpal Arya, a well-known opponent of Harish Rawat and the possible entry of some more leaders from the BJP, has worried the former CM. His supporters were expecting that the veteran Rawat would be the chief ministerial candidate, so he too was insisting on being relieved from the post of Punjab in-charge. But Rawat agreed to wait till the matter was resolved on the request of party president Sonia Gandhi.
The Congress is said to be hoping to use this strategy not only in the states, but also in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, after Dalit leader Charanjit Singh Channi was made the CM of Punjab.
In Uttarakhand, Dalits constitute about 23% of the population. Harish Rawat is a Thakur, who accounts for around 25% of the population and cannot be ignored. But looking at the example of Punjab, Congress is ready to gamble for electoral gains.
The prospect has given rise to some concerns in the Rawat camp, which is why the leader wants to stay in Uttarakhand to consolidate his position. However, Congress sources say Yashpal Arya is not the only Dalit potential in the party that the Gandhi family is looking after. Pradeep Tamta is another powerful Dalit leader.
But like in Punjab, where a clear rift broke out between Navjot Singh Sidhu and Channi, the infighting in the hills could be on the rise.
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