Bahuguna brushes aside speculation, says all's well

When Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna drove to the Raj Bhawan here on Tuesday evening, he was chased by the media persons amid intense speculation that he was on his way out.

After his brief meeting with Governor Aziz Qureshi, Bahuguna denied reports about his removal as "wrong" which had been appearing in a section of the media during the past few days.

But the speculation did not stop there. During last night, rumours kept buzzing in the capital that Bahuguna would shortly meet Congress President to hand over his resignation. And on Wednesday also, he was again quizzed about the speculation. "All is well. Some people don't die in politics," said Bahuguna.

But other top Congress leaders were tightlipped on the issue. The mood in the camp of Union Water Resources Minister was, however, upbeat with his supporters rushing to New Delhi to galvanise support for him. "It should be only Harish Rawat this time," said a cabinet minister close to Rawat.

The sources close to Rawat said he is not ready to accept anybody other than himself in case Bahuguna is removed. "Unlike the last time (after 2012 assembly polls) when Rawat came under the pressure of the Congress high command to accept a central ministerial berth, this time he will not acquiesce to any pressure," said the minister.

Speculation about the removal of Bahuguna came as the infighting in the ruling Congress in state failed to ebb despite Bahuguna's desperate efforts to put a lid on the crisis.

On the other hand, PCC chief Yashapal Arya has also registered his protest by resigning from the post early this month. Since then, rumours have circulated that both Bahuguna and Arya would be replaced.

Meanwhile, Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), an alliance of independents and parties supporting the Congress-led coalition government in the state, has now softened its stance on the change of guard saying it would wait and watch political developments before taking any decision. Earlier, the seven-member PDF had voiced its opposition against any change at the helm in the state.