With the battle for ministerial berths intensifying among the ruling Congress party leaders and alliance partners in the aftermath of the death of the State Transport and Social Welfare Minister Surendra Rakesh, things would prove difficult for Chief Minister Harish Rawat to ignore the claims of the ‘honest’ party leaders in the ministerial and other set-ups. He has so far been keeping the matter on hold.
According to the observers, filling the void left in the Cabinet is not tough for the Chief Minister. However, the issue of meeting the aspirations of the party’s committed workers for berths in the Government or different councils or committees is not that easy. Resentment has been brewing for long among the Congress workers over their non-accommodation in the Government or the Government-run bodies. The disgruntled party workers have shown disappointment over the party having cleared decks for the re-entry of the rebel leaders like State Cabinet Minister Harish Durgapal.
The same manifested during the two- day party ‘manthan shivir’ held in Haldwani last month. Sensing the mood among the party’s rank and file getting hoarse, Chief Minister Rawat or for that matter the State Congress leadership has managed go-ahead from the party high command in fulfilling the mounting expectations of the ‘honest and hardworking’ leaders.
However, things are murky as to how the CM would accommodate more in his jumbo Cabinet. Besides, almost all ruling party MlAs are now enjoying power either in the ministry or in the different councils and committees run by the Government. The past experience during the N D Tiwari regime of over-cramming the councils or committees with the party workers is not encouraging for the present leadership to fall upon. With things not going as they were expected, the Congress lost the 2007 Assembly elections to the BJP.
Aware of the drift of things, the Chief Minister has said on several occasions that the previous experience of awarding huge number of party workers with responsibilities had not proved positive. How things would figure out with those at the helm of things not so strongly inclined to change the status quo is mired in speculative murkiness.