Dissent in Congress over new appointments in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: Speculations of factionalism rocked the

Uttarakhand

unit of Congress a day after the party gave two of the three key posts -- leader of opposition, deputy leader of opposition and party chief -- to leaders considered close to former chief minister Harish Rawat. The development also led to six-time MLA, Pritam Singh, Rawat's alleged bete noire within the party, getting upset.

As reported by TOI, Congress had named Karan

Mahara

as the state chief,

Yashpal Arya

as the leader of opposition and Bhuvan Chand Kapri as the deputy leader of opposition. While Kapri, who defeated chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Khatima, is considered close to Pritam Singh, the other two leaders -- Arya and Mahara -- are said to be members of the Harish Rawat camp.

According to sources, the Congress central leadership had ordered a probe into the recent poll debacle in Uttarakhand. Subsequently, a report prepared by party observers Avinash Pandey and Devender Yadav mentioned "differences among state party leaders" as one of the reasons behind the poll defeat. Speaking to TOI, Singh slammed the report saying, "According to the report, factionalism led to the poll loss. To my shock, I am being accused of factionalism. I urge the national leadership to look into it and if I am found guilty, I will resign as MLA."

Adding fuel to the speculations of infighting within the two alleged camps, Singh held a meeting with CM Dhami on Sunday evening. Soon after the meeting, political corridors were abuzz with talks of a possible split within the Uttarakhand Congress with speculations that the Chakrata MLA may join the BJP. However, Singh rejected all such speculations.

When queried about the matter, Congress general secretary (organisation) Mathura Dutt Joshi said, "The party struck a balance between youth and experience. Mahara is a youth leader and Arya, a former state minister, is a veteran. We have ensured that public-related issues are strongly raised in the assembly."

Meanwhile, unhappy over the "sidelining" of the Garhwal region, more than 100 Congress functionaries from Chamoli submitted their resignation to the party's state chief on Monday. Notably, all the three key posts announced on Sunday have been given to leaders from the Kumaon region. While Mahara is from Almora, Arya and Kapri are from Udham Singh Nagar. "The party didn't pick any leader for the key posts from Garhwal. This is an insult to the entire region. We are confident that soon, more members will quit the party," said a disgruntled party member.