local Congress leaders and party workers thronged the Congress Bhawan in jubilation after the party managed to pass the Supreme Court ordered floor test in the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday. Some of the party leaders and their supporters did the customary sloganeering and ‘celebration’ while also trying to remain near Harish Rawat both to display their ‘loyalty’ and to grab their bit of space in the electronic media. While Rawat was addressing a mixed crowd of mediapersons and party workers at a hurriedly called Press conference before going to the martyrs memorial, the local party leaders, office bearers and their supporters huddled in smaller groups dissecting the political situation discussing motley aspects of the scenario in a manner which presented a picture appearing more sombre than jovial.
It should be mentioned here that in the climate of political uncertainty in Uttarakhand especially since March 18, the Congress Bhawan illustrated the fluctuations in the position of the Congress party in the State. Party leaders and their supporters who had become less visible earlier, thronged the Congress Bhawan premises after Rawat passed the Assembly floor test with the limited parking space at the Rajpur Road premises causing many from the Congress to park their assortment of vehicles ranging from two-wheelers to ‘lower-end’ four wheelers, luxury vehicles and sports utility vehicles along the roadsides on the busy and clogged section of Rajpur Road and nearby connecting roads.
The police at the Congress Bhawan gate focused on preventing inconvenience to prominent persons like Rawat and Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay among others while also trying to keep the traffic moving through the bottleneck which is among the accepted effects of major happenings at the Congress Bhawan.
Addressing the mixed gathering of media persons, party leaders and their supporters Harish Rawat extolled the positive aspects of the democracy and judiciary while also expressing gratitude to party’s central leadership, its MlAs and party cadre acknowledging their role in the recent political happenings. The PCC chief spoke of democratic, constitutional and political aspects of the developments while emphasising on consolidating the party cadre to boost the party’s chances of winning the next Vidhan Sabha elections.
Even as the party leadership presented a picture of confidence and political strength, the Congress Bhawan compound was dotted with several small groups of party leaders, their supporters and other personalities discussing the various aspects like the significance of passing the Assembly floor test, probable scenarios for the party in the future, status of the nine turncoat MlAs and the various deals and amendments which could be planned in the changed scenario. While also joining the celebration, Rawat also tried to remind the gathering to check its exuberance by referring to the Rs 700 crore loss of unspent budget for March.
Trying to balance various aspects with an eye on the future politics, Rawat called for proactive effort by the BJP-led Central Government, BJP MlAs and others towards making a “fresh start”.
However, the mood in general appeared to be more sombre than celebratory as politicians were heard talking about challenges for the party and other aspects of the Congress and the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.
“This is temporary enthusiasm of the party cadre as the Congress still has to make concerted effort to retain its position and win the next elections in Uttarakhand among other challenges,” said a party leader discussing the scenario with his peers.