Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), which has hitherto been considered as a weak link in the chain has helped Congress sail out the floor test comfortably. The credit must go to Harish Rawat who has kept the six MlAs belonging to it closer to his heart all along despite being pressured to throw it off by Bahuguna faction since the time the party won Bhagwanpur Assembly by-poll. The by-election victory helped the party manage the absolute majority in the Assembly. There were reasons too. PDF enjoyed four cabinet berths while many of the competent Congress MlAs were aspiring to be incorporated in the cabinet at the expense of the PDF.
The strategy paid him good dividends in the end as the former CM’s survival hinged on the support of the six MlAs.
“This marks the far-sightedness of Harish Rawat. He knew from the beginning that the MlAs loyal to Bahuguna were less reliable than the six PDF MlAs. He was convinced that the PDF MlAs were likely to stand by him through thick and thin while many of his party MlAs would jump the ship once they smelt that the ship was sinking. He has been proved right. It is a golden bond that Harish Rawat created and this helped him survive the gravest challenge to his chequered political career,” an observer said.
Things were, however, fluid when the crisis was deepening. The political circles were abuzz with speculations that BJP would manage to split the PDF by luring away at least the Independent MlA Mantri Prasad Naithani, who is considered fairly close to senior BJP leader Satpal Maharaj. But things did not happen the way BJP intended.
Another observer cited the freedom Harish Rawat had given to the PDF members when things were going from bad to worse for him. There were rumours that PDF members had been flown to Delhi for meeting with BJP top brass. “Rawat showed how mature he is when he did not ask them any question whether it was true or not. He almost philosophically left things to them. He was, however, unshakably convinced that whatever the lure, they could hardly be weaned away from him,” the observer commented.
BJP resorting to ‘conscience vote’ amounted to acknowledgement of its defeat. They, of course, roped in in the end Rekha Arya, the Congress MlA from Someshwar. But she switched sides as she was unlikely to be given nomination in the next Assembly election. But the BJP lost the support of its own MlA Bhim lal Arya whom Harish Rawat endeared, bestowing him with position and assuring him with more.