Numbers in,how to pick first among equals
Party leaders appear to be hoping that the problem will get resolved if they prolong it for a considerable period.
Even on the day it came forward to form a government in Uttarakhand,the Congress did not have answers as to who will take over as the chief minister in the state.
Party leaders appear to be hoping that the problem will get resolved if they prolong it for a considerable period. Anybody can be CM; even someone from outside who is good enough can be called on to take charge, said AICC general secretary Birendra Singh on Friday. He could not be closer to the truth.
On Friday,one of the three Independent legislators on whose support the government will float created a flutter when he said that his choice for the CMs post was Satpal Maharaj. I want Satpal Maharaj as my leader. Of course,I will go along with what the majority decision is, said Mantri Prasad Naithani,MLA from Deoprayag. Naithani,a Congressman,contested on his own after the party denied him candidature. Former Union minister Satpal Maharaj represents the Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency.
Except for former CM N D Tiwaris expression of interest about the post,which was not taken seriously in political circles,it was for the first time that someone had dropped a name in public.
Apart from Satpal Maharaj,five others are in contention Union Minister for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat,Tehri MP Vijay Bahuguna,Pradesh Congress president Yashpal Arya,Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing House and Rudraprayag MLA Harak Singh Rawat,and newly-elected legislator from Haldwani Indira Hridyesh.
While Birendra Singhs joke may not be entirely true top Congress leaders insist that none other than an Uttarakhand-based leader will be made the CM it is possible that a Congress legislator could be installed as a compromise to pacify contending camps.
Though Harish Rawat was a clear contender before the polls,his chances have slightly dimmed after the results: Asking an MP to resign to contest in an Assembly bypoll could be disastrous,as the Congress will be risking two seats at the same time. Worse,a bypoll loss could bring down the state government,as a victory for the BJP would take its tally to 32 in the Assembly,while the Congress will drop to 31. This logic applies to the two other MPs too,but an additional factor that works against Rawat is that the Congress did not do well this time in the Assembly constituencies that constitute the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat.
If the Congress leadership plans to elevate a party legislator,then Aryas name takes precedence. Apart from successes in the 2009 general elections and the just-concluded Assembly polls,Arya is a Dalit. It is assumed that the BSP will find it easier to work with him if they lend support to a Congress government.
However,BSP state president Surajmal cautioned against such presumptions. We will go by whatever Behenji asks us to do, he said.
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