With the dust of the lone Rajya Sabha by-election from Uttarakhand having settled down, the possibility of the party’s organisational structure being rejigged is brightening. Though the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Kishore Upadhyaya made a few appointments at organisational level after his elevation as the head of the party in the State, he is yet to form his own team by overhauling the State congress working committee.
Interestingly, the party rank and file have remained vocal on the issue of the organisaional re-jig since the time Congress returned to power in the spring of 2012. However, things gained momentum after Upadhyaya took reins of the party about a year ago. But till now, nothing has happened on the matter, spawning discontent and frustration among the workers and a section of the party leaders in the State.
Mention worthy, the two-day brain-storming session of the State party known as ‘manthan shivir’ held in Haldwani in January 2015 triggered hopes of new faces being inducted to lend dynamism to the party’s organisational structure. But the hope remains a hope till now with the party leadership dithering. Asked about the long-pending reshuffle, State Congress party chief had hinted at forming a new team soon after the Shivir was over.
The party leadership cited Rajya Sabha election process as a reason behind things being delayed, said DeepaK Balutiya, State spokesperson of the UPCC. Now, with the process being over, things would be taken up soon, he added. Apart from the possibility of a new State working committee being formed, it is likely that the party set-up would be re-jigged at the block and the village panchayat levels with the ‘sincere and hardworking’ party men seeing their ways into the decision- making process of the party, the party insiders here maintain.
The party insiders here are of the view that unless the ‘honest and hardworking’ workers who have been kept at bay as far as Governmental responsibilities are concerned are bestowed with important positions within the party organisations things might prove difficult for the party in the coming days.