The date of by-election on Kedarnath assembly seat may not have been decided yet, but Congress has started preparations in full swing. The party has the challenge of penetrating the stronghold of BJP, but before that it has to face the test on the front of curbing factionalism. The members of the State Congress Coordination Committee, formed to establish coordination with the senior leaders of the party, are themselves victims of tussle. Senior leaders took limited participation in the second phase of Kedarnath Pratishtha Bachao Yatra, which was taken out on the call of the state organization. Former state president Ganesh Godiyal and former local MLA Manoj Rawat did not consider it necessary to join the second phase of the Yatra. They did public relations in the villages.
Congress has made victory in Kedarnath like Badrinath its target
Congress has made victory in Kedarnath assembly seat like Badrinath its next target. This seat has become vacant due to the death of BJP MLA Shailarani Rawat. The reason why the party is giving more priority to the Kedarnath by-election is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi has immense faith in Baba Kedarnath. Seeing Modi’s love for Baba Kedarnath and its impact on the Hindu psyche, the BJP is putting all its strength on this by-election. Five cabinet ministers of the state government have been given special responsibility for the by-election. Congress has become more cautious due to this move of the BJP.
The main opposition party is making every effort to create a favorable environment in the Kedarnath assembly constituency for the by-election. Along with this, anti-incumbency should be raised as much as possible against the state government. The same strategy was adopted in the by-election held on the Badrinath assembly seat and the party was successful in achieving its goal. The Kedarnath Pratishtha Bachao Yatra was taken out by making the alleged irregularities in the gold plating in the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple an issue. On the call of state Congress president Karan Mahara, most of the prominent leaders including former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, party candidate from Garhwal parliamentary constituency and former state president Ganesh Godiyal participated in the first phase of the yatra in August last month. Later, the yatra was stopped due to landslides in the Kedarghati region due to heavy rains. The second phase of the Kedarnath Pratishtha Bachao Yatra of the state Congress started from September 13. State co-incharge Surendra Sharma participated in the second phase of the yatra, but senior leaders kept a distance from it. Ganesh Godiyal and former MLA of the area Manoj Rawat gave more importance to meeting the people of the area and public relations instead of the yatra. Both sides were angry with each other over this. However, just three days before the second phase of the yatra started, in the meeting of the State Congress Coordination Committee chaired by Karan Mahara, all the veteran leaders unitedly resolved to take the party across.
What is the reason behind the tussle over the yatra?
If party sources are to be believed, the reason behind the tussle over the yatra is the issue of the candidate in the Kedarnath by-election. State President Mahara wants such a candidate in the by-election who has strong chances of winning. Mahara believes that former cabinet minister Dr. Harak Singh Rawat has a good influence in the area. Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat had also raised the issue of the candidate in the coordination committee meeting. At that time, his target was State Congress President Karan Mahara. However, Mahara has also said that the consensus on the candidate has to be decided in the coordination committee meeting itself.
