The State Congress top brass appear set to take the final call on the long-lingering issue of the party’s alliance with People’s Democratic Front as the senior leaders, including the Chief Minister Harish Rawat and State Congress president, Kishore Upadhyay, have remained engaged for some time in interacting with the grass-root party activists at the panchayat levels. The State party watchers say that this exercise is meant to gauge the mood of the electorate through the party’s foot soldiers who work on the ground vis-Ã -vis PDF.
There is little doubt that PDF has turned into a kind of liability for the ruling party. With the party gearing up for the next Assembly election slated for 2017, it is an imperative for the party leadership has to decide things about the alliance. With the clamour for snapping ties with PDF gaining momentum after the party secured majority of its own in the Assembly courtesy the Bhagwanpur by-poll victory, Upadhyay hinted in April while touring Kumaon that the party would take the decision soon. However, the decision is being deferred.
He said that the decision would soon be taken as the leadership is interacting with the grass root workers to know their sentiments. “However, the party high command would take the final call,” he added. The observers say that it would prove difficult for Congress to end the alliance, given the fact that the ragtag alliance of some non-Congress, non-BJP MlAs had supported the party when it was struggling hard to stitch up a majority to form the Government.