Election barely a few months away, the Opposition BJP plunged into a stir mode, launching its ‘Pardafaash’ rally on Wednesday to expose the “all-round failure” of the Harish Rawat Government.
The rally will cover 48 of the 70 Assembly constituencies of Uttarakhand. The four former Chief Ministers from the party - Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Maj Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Vijay Bahuguna - along with two other senior party leaders who switched to the BJP from the Congress -Satpal Maharaj and Harak Singh Rawat - have been given the responsibility to make the programme a success.
Despite the State BJP setting great store by the success of the rally, internal schism came to the fore as the rally meant to cover Doiwala constituency was postponed. Significantly, Vijay Bahuguna has been given charge of the rally covering the important constituency.
The BJP insiders said that the last-minute postponement of the rally meant to cover Doiwala had dealt a severe jolt to the State party brass.
The State leadership conceived the rally to motivate the party rank and file ahead of the election, they said, adding that things turning a fiasco thanks to factional squabbling had delivered a crippling blow to the morale of the party, apparently gearing up for the election.
The BJP brass sought to downplay the matter by stating that it was a mere postponement. However, things are far from reassuring for the party. Questions arise as to why the rally was postponed at the last minute.
Besides, though it was earlier stated that a galaxy of State party stalwarts would gather together at the State BJP headquarters to have the rally flagged off. However, as things unfolded on the ground on Wednesday, no stalwart except the State party chief Ajay Bhatt turned up, a development that augurs ill for the party ahead of the crucial Assembly election.
later, while talking to The Pioneer, State BJP president Ajay Bhatt said that the response the Pardafaash rally has been evoking is encouraging his party.
“The rally has just started. However, the people are showing solidarity with the cause my party is striving for. Their response has made it clear that disillusioned with the State Government, steeped in corruption, they are waiting for the opportunity to show the Harish Rawat Government the door. We are sure, given the initial support we are receiving, that the stir would put the last nail in the coffin of the Harish Rawat Government,” Bhatt said.