Campaign against Rawat foiled

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat may be down but certainly not out. Despite being bed-ridden for more than a week at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi following a severe internal neck injury during a choppy flight to the capital, Rawat has managed to foil a campaign against him by his detractors.

Led by former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, a host of the ruling Congress MLAs had met the top party leadership in New Delhi and expressed resentment on the appointment of Kishore Upadhayay as the new PCC chief. The Bahuguna camp wanted party MLA Subodh Uniyal to head the state Congress and lodged a strong complaint against Rawat for the alleged mismanagement at the government level.

But as soon as Rawat got the whiff of the campaign, he got in touch with the top Congress managers and scuttled the campaign. "After listening to the grievances of the Bahuguna camp, the party leaders said the time was not ripe for such things when the crucial by-elections are just a month away," said a top state Congress leader. Rawat is all set to contest the by-election from Doiwala and Dharchula Assembly seats in the July 21 by-election in order to enter the Vidhan Sabha.

The Congress high command also gave the go-ahead to Upadhayay to take over the reins of the state Congress. Upadhayay last evening formerly took over the charge of the state PCC President at a function at the state Congress headquarters here with the Bahuguna camp boycotting it. "Bahuguna as well as all his supported MLAs were conspicuous with their absence in the function," said the Congress leader.

However, Upadhayay warned the disgruntled Congress leaders not to take any hasty step saying it would spoil the image of the ruling Congress. "We should work unitedly and defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the by-elections," said Upadhayay, after assuming the charge.

Upadhayay also went to the house of Uniyal in his desperate bid to show unity in the state party unit.