Rawat dreams of being Uttarakhand CM, but poll outcome is still far off

Harish Rawat has clearly showcased the tussle within Uttarakhand Congress with his CM statement

There’s still close to a month to go for the election results in the five states where the Assembly polls are on.  The Uttarakhand scenario has thrown up an interesting phenomenon. And at the Centre of it is the Congress party.

The latest development has brought to the fore the tussle within the party. With senior leader and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat proclaiming that he would either be the Chief Minister or sit at home if the Congress wins in the state, the bickering in the party for the Chief Minister’s post is likely to gain more noise. The statement has come as a response to media queries on the possibilities of him being the Chief Minister if the Congress gets a majority in Uttarakhand.

Rawat wants to be CM, but will he?

Rawat is obviously hoping to be the Chef Minister of Uttarakhand in the event of the party being elected to power. But then, Pritam Singh, former state president of the party, has a different opinion. Banking on the traditional practice of MLAs putting forth their consent on a person who would be elected as leader, Singh said that the this is the democratic way in which the Congress party functions. He also added that the party high command will have the final say on who the Chief minister would be.

The situation is actually funny, as the party isn’t at all sure whether it will post a win when the results come out. The state had gone to the polls on February 14. The 70-seat state assembly could be anybody’s with the Congress and the BJP doing all they can to ensure a win. But the final outcome is what the parties should be looking at before clamouring for the Chief Minister’s post. 

Rawat’s statement comes out of place, and it should have waited till the poll results are out.  The move could be seen as overconfidence on the part of the former chief minister, but no one knows what the voters have decided in the current scenario.

Rawat has been acting as if he would head the government and is reported as even laid out plans to announce reforms in revenue and employment as soon as the government is formed.

Congress building castles in the air, ridicules BJP

Rawat’s statements have evoked sharp criticism from the part of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is also looking form the government in Uttarakhand. The BJP dismissed Rawat’s overconfidence as just an act of building castles in air. The party has also said that the Congress leader does not have the patience to wait for the poll verdict and that Rawat’s statement has nothing to do with public concerns.

The Congress party seems to be letting its leaders damage its chances by making such irresponsible statements. Rawat should have waited till the results are out, and the party high command should have directed him to keep his mouth shut till then.