The meeting of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) scheduled on Sunday in Dehradun is likely to see fireworks as the camp followers of former Chief Minister and All India Congress Committee ( AICC) general secretary Harish Rawat and PCC president Pritam Singh are resolved to cross swords on a string of issues.

The party has invited all the leaders who had contested the 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections to the crucial meeting during which the State party leaders, including Pritam Singh and Harish Rawat, would brainstorm to firm up a  roadmap for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The not- so impressive performance of the Congress in the just-concluded urban local body election might make the two warring factions to lock horns.  

The recent expulsion spree involving the staunch Harish Rawat loyalists like the Nainital nagar Congress committee chief Maruti Shah, president of Congress Sewa Dal Chamoli, Sanjay Rawat and former general secretary of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Khajan Pandey for a period of six years has further intensified the factional bickering in the state unit of the opposition party. 

Enraged over these expulsions, the deputy leader of Congress legislature party and Ranikhet MLA, Karan Mahra  had even convened a press conference in Haldwani on Tuesday and termed the expulsion of Khajan Pandey and Maruti Shah as unwarranted and ill-conceived move. He  had clearly held PCC president Pritam Singh and the leader of  the opposition Indira Hridayesh as behind the move. Mahara had questioned the disciplinary committee for expelling old and trusted leaders without serving even the show-cause notice to them and  had warned that the issue would be raised during the PCC meeting slated on December 16.

He had also questioned as to why no action is being taken against those who give statements against Harish Rawat incessantly. 

Congress MLA from Kedarnath Manoj Rawat said that after the 2017 Assembly elections, the elected MLAs had sent the names of the leaders of the party who had worked against them. “But no action has been taken against them till date,” he said. Notably, barring Pritam Singh and Indira Hridayesh, most of the Congress are said to be Harish Rawat loyalists.

Giving clear hints that he would not get bogged down by the recalcitrance of Harish Rawat camp, the PCC president Pritam Singh has said that action against those who worked against official candidates of party was justified and that indiscipline would not be tolerated in the party.