The call by former State minister, ex-Uttarakhand Kranti Dal leader and present patron of the Uttarakhand Jankranti Dal, Diwakar Bhatt, for uniting the various factions of the UKD has elicited mixed reactions.
While the UKD (Airy) faction chief Kashi Singh Airy has supported the stance stating that the party has been attempting to consolidate various factions, the Panwar faction chief Trivendra Singh Panwar has termed this a part of the conspiracy of national parties to further damage the UKD. Political observers State that there is little scope for the party to consolidate its position in time for the coming lok Sabha elections in 2014.
The UJD had recently merged with the UKD (Airy faction). Bhatt has been calling for uniting the various factions of the UKD while criticising Panwar for his ‘autocratic’ attitude which has led to the disintegration of the party. Since being elected head of the faction, Airy too has been calling for efforts to unite the factions. However, Panwar has maintained his stand stating that both Airy and Bhatt had been expelled for life from the UKD and that their actions are part of the conspiracy of the Congress and BJP to weaken the UKD.
It is pertinent to mention here that there were four members of the UKD in the previous legislative Assembly while in the present Assembly there is only one member-Urban Development minister Pritam Singh Panwar, who has also been suspended from the party for criticising Trivendra Singh Panwar and not accepting him as the valid party chief.Both Airy and TS Panwar repeatedly stress on the need for strengthening the party and interacting with the public to rebuild the public confidence in the party which was severely dented due to the factionalism.
However, the present state of the party is known to all and instills little confidence in the public. The once sole regional party which played an influential role in the Statehood movement and in building public opinion is now a weaker political entity compared to its past State. Considering this, political analysts believe that the UKD has little or no hope of scoring in the coming general elections.