Having secured a clear majority in the Uttarakhand Assembly after winning the Bhagwanpur Assembly by-polls, the State Congress is all set to reconsider its alliance with the Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), the ragtag conglomeration of non-Congress, non-BJP MlAs. A section of the State Congress leaders and workers are strongly for snapping the alliance as they feel it would prove a liability for them in the 2017 Assembly elections. Also, they feel that many capable party leaders are being deprived of Cabinet berths because of the alliance.
All told, the State Congress leadership can hardly ignore the fact that PDF helped it to cobble up a simple majority when the Congress was busy striving for the magic figure to form the Government around three years ago. However, the fast-changing scenario in the trajectory of the State’s politics is forcing the ruling party to think whether continuation of the alliance will bode well for its long-term interest in the State, with the Assembly election slated in 2017.
Speaking on the sidelines of a party’s meeting here on Friday, Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president, Kishore Upadhyay said they have to ponder seriously over what the party’s best strategy would be to successfully take on the coming Assembly election. “We are aware of the PDF’s role during the tough days the Congress was facing. But we cannot ignore the ground reality with things changing fast,” he said.
“The matter whether the PDF leaders would contest on Congress tickets or they would contest as independent candidates would have to be cleared,” he further said. “This is a serious issue for the Congress leaders. We cannot ignore the party workers’ aversion against being consigned in the backseat as far as the constituencies being represented by PDF are concerned,” the Congress leader said. UPCC president parried question over who would fill up the ministerial berth left vacant by the death Surendra Rakesh. “It is the prerogative of the central leadership and the Chief Minister to decide,” he said.