The visit of the Uttarakhand Congress in-charge Ambika Soni seemed to have failed to douse the fire of infighting the State Congress has been battling with. It is learnt that the rift is further widening with the senior Cabinet Minister Indira Hridayesh having even threatened to quit as a fallout of the hostility running between her and the party’s national secretary Prakash Joshi.
Observers opine that the ceaseless intra-party bickering, be it on the issue of the party’s continued alliance with PDF or the animosity between Hridayesh and Joshi, might cost the ruling party dear in the upcoming election barely a couple of months away. The squabbling face of the Congress is, on the other hand, boosting BJP’s morale, providing further impetus to the preparation of the Parivartan Yatra, slated to take off on November 13.
The party insiders say that Joshi constantly complaining to the Chief Minister and other leaders against Hridayesh, dubbing her as one living in ivory tower, shorn of the least connect with the party rank and file, has goaded her to the point of expressing desire to quit the Ministry.
“Joshi is resenting some of the Ministers, particularly Hridayesh, trashing the party in their delusion of winning the election on their own. This is what angered the senior minister. Though Soni intervened to cool things down it is a matter of time before the situation gets on the boil again as Joshi is adamant to sit on a fast at the State party headquarters to vent his anger against the party being slighted by the senior Ministers,” a party leader said.
Soni is learnt to have warned that she would take the matter up with the AICC vice -president Rahul Gandhi if the party leaders and the ministers continue to squabble.
It is learnt from the party sources that Joshi wrote to the CM, alleging that the Minister and her son Sumit had helped the ABVP nominee during the students’ union election at Haldwani-based MB PG College to spite the prospects of NSUI candidate. “He alleged that by lending support to the student affiliate of the communal RSS, the Minister and her son have violated the constitution of the Congress. To buttress his point, Joshi cited the newly elected president of the union Neeraj Mehra, supported by ABVP, reaching the house of Indira Hridayesh to seek her blessing,” a leader close to Joshi said.
Observers say that the long-nurtured animosity between Joshi and Hridayesh coming on the top of the running feud between the CM and the State party Kishore Upadhyay augurs ill for the ruling party, gearing up to face the BJP onslaught in the election.
“The PDF issue still alive with the party top guns not clearing things might exacerbate tension again. It is learnt that a section of the party leaders has asked Soni to see to it that the party fields candidates against the PDF nominees. This stance, running counter to the PDF asking the party high command not to field candidates against them, might incur wrath of the CM who has been taking pains to keep the existing applecart intact. It is interesting to see how CM would manage things for PDF with the organisational leaders mounting pressure on the party top brass to shrug off PDF,” one of the observers said.