The MPs from Uttarakhand are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that they would be finally inducted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet, which is likely to be expanded now.
Sources said that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) has sent a report to the Union Government after they assessed the records of all the six MPs-five of lok Sabha and one of Rajya Sabha.
Patience wearing thin, a party’s State stalwart and former Chief Minister Nishank has even shot off a letter to the Union finance minister, reminding him that despite Niti Ayog’s approval, Uttarakhand has not received a penny under Ardh Kumbha’s `166 crore package, a move that has enthused the ruling Congress, on one hand, while it has embarrassed the BJP, on the other.
Sources say that the likelihood of Udham Singh Nagar MP and former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari being inducted into Modi Cabinet, is bright. The same is true for Tehri MP Mala Rajya lakshmi Shah. While the former represents from Kumaon the latter Garhwal. In this scenario, there seems to be no hope left for Dr Nishank who had served the State as the CM. Things naturally leaving him seething in anger, he has started to embarrass the party’s top brass by way of flaunting his ability to wreak damage from within, an observer said.
Things are really demoralising for the leader. The BJP top brass had already shown him his place by keeping him out in the cold as regards the selection of the party’s State unit chief and the subsequent formation of the State BJP committee. The leader of the Opposition Ajay Bhatt was shown the favour as he was elected the State party chief.
Dr Nishank had been kept under tremendous pressure with Harish Rawat cutting into his bones almost daily, scoffing at him for his failure to have the promised fund of Rs 166 crore released for the Ardh Kumbh preparations. “CM exhorting the BJP MPs to raise the issue with the Centre, with Haridwar MP being singled out, seems to have driven him at the end of his tether. Using this emotive issue to the full, CM is doing everything to poach on the turf now held by Dr Nishank. There is every likelihood that he is scouting the lok Sabha constituency to foist his wife Renuka Rawat in the contest during the next lok Sabha election,” an observer said .
By appointing Kumaon Brahmin Ajay Bhatt as state BJP president, the party high command has driven home the point that they are focused over the Thakur community, in particular to counteract the fact that Harish Rawat is a Thakur himself. Uttarakhand politics hovering around the caste and regional equations with Thakur and Brahmin communities and Garhwal and Kumaon figuring prominently, there is little room for the party high command other than maneuvering things this way. If Koshyari, who represents Thakur community as well as Kumaon region and Mala Rajya lakshmi Shah representing Garhwal are inducted into the Union Cabinet things would come full circle as far as the caste/regional permutation and combination of the electoral strategy is concerned. However, things are still murky as the recently constituted Sate committee has excluded the camp followers of the trio-three former CMs- Koshyari, Maj Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri and Dr Nishank.