After a long wait of more than two and half years, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Pritam Singh may have suspended the old PCC and decided to constitute a new one. However, the internal dynamics of the Congress party would ensure that the task of selecting a new PCC would be a tough one for him.
Apart from maintaining regional balance in his team, Pritam would have to deal with the intense pressure of the camps headed by former Chief Minister Harish Rawat and former PCC chief Kishore Upadhyaya for accommodating their supporters in the new PCC. To maintain his position of strength vis-a-vis these seasoned politicians, Pritam Singh would definitely try to induct his supporters and those owing allegiance with the leader of opposition Indira Hridayesh in the new team. Pritam Singh incidentally has teamed up with Hridayesh to create his own camp in the faction ridden Congress party. To make things difficult for Pritam Singh, the old war horse and former CM, Harish Rawat has already started putting pressure on him. Immediately after Pritam suspended his old team and announced to appoint a new PCC, Harish Rawat announced that he is suspending all his social and political assignments for next three months. The former CM said that he is doing so as he is not keeping a good health but the explanation is hard to digest.
It is believed that Harish Rawat is angry as he believes that the Pritam Singh and Indira Hridayesh have complained to high command that he (Rawat) organises parallel programmes with the programmes of the State unit of Congress party. The political observers however opine that by expressing his resentment, Rawat is bull working to ensure that maximum number of his supporters find a place in the new PCC.
Former PCC chief Kishore Upadhyaya too has given enough indications that he would not take things lying down if his camp followers are not accommodated in the PCC. Pritam Singh was appointed as PCC chief in May 2017 after the severe drubbing the party faced at the hands of BJP in the Assembly elections in the State.
In these two and half years, Singh was not able to select his new team in the PCC and continued to work with the old PCC team that was chosen during the time when Kishore Upadhyaya was PCC President.
On many occasions in the past Pritam Singh has expressed his desire to have a small PCC but given the internal dynamics of the party it is very likely that he chooses a jumbo PCC like his predecessors.