Despite winning nine out of 12 District Panchayat president posts, Congress could not digest BJP victory from Tehri and Chamoli districts.
This is why they have constituted a committee to investigate the reason why the party-supported candidates had lost the election. Ironically, Tehri is the home district of Uttarakhand PCC President Kishore Upadhyaya. Besides, Congress had initiated a special session of Uttarakhand Assembly at Gairsain, Chamoli. Notwithstanding all this, attempts to show 'empathy' to the people, the party was trumped in the hustings in both these two districts.
Congress lost three districts Panchayat presidents' posts i.e. Uttarkashi, Tehri and Chamoli. However, the fact that BJP has won in two districts seems to have stung them hard. Coincidentally, all these three districts are in Garhwal division. Hence, the blows are proving difficult for them to be taken lightly.
Each committee consists of three senior Congress leaders. Ex-MP Mahendra Singh Pal, Yogendra Khanduri and Rajpal Bisht have been given assignment for Chamoli district, while ex-MP Pradeep Tamta, ex-MlA Qazi Nizamuddin and Aryendra Sharma have been provided with the charge for Tehri district by the PCC president Upadhyaya. Talking to The Pioneer, senior Congress leader Jot Singh Bisht said In Uttarkashi they had backed the BJP rebel candidate Jasoda Rana. "So we have won 10 out of 12 districts," he said. However, BJP has rejected the Congress, terming this as a sham.
Since 2012, the Congress Government keeps doing something annually for Chamoli district. For instance, in 2012, the Vijay Bahuguna Government had initiated a cabinet meeting there. In 2013, a foundation stone laying ceremony was held.
This year, they staged a three-day-long special session of the Assembly. The people having rejected them despite this 'gimmick' has shocked the party mandarins. Similarly, in Tehri district, the party has fared badly despite the fact that the State PCC president hails from it.