M A I N   N E W S

BJP ties itself into knots Uttaranchal leadership
From T.R. Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The BJP is caught in a self-created web on who should be the Chief Minister of the newly created hill state of Uttaranchal.

The central leadership has reservations about the three names shortlisted from the 30 legislators of Uttaranchal, carved out of Uttar Pradesh. Uttaranchal will awake to statehood amid much fanfare and revelry at the stroke of midnight on November 8 in Dehra Dun, which is slated to be the interim capital.

The BJP central leadership has inflicted this problem on itself by setting the benchmark that only an elected representative can aspire to be the Chief Minister of Uttaranchal. It has also ruled out MPs from Uttaranchal throwing their hat in the race for the chief minister’s post.

To compound matters, the Uttar Pradesh state reorganisation Bill barely leaves any room for some gilt-edged manoeuvring. The measure is also categoric that assembly elections in Uttaranchal can only take place after the delimitation exercise is completed by the Election Commission in Uttaranchal. Considering the difficult terrain and far-flung areas in the hills, the delimitation process cannot be rushed through and can easily take 12 to 18 months to complete.

The three legislators eyeing the Chief Minister’s chair are Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Kedar Singh Fonia and Bhagat Singh Koshyari. All three have their own minus points and do not meet the criteria set by the BJP top brass.

Nishank is an erstwhile protege of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, who after being expelled by the BJP has charted his own course. Nishank allegedly faces certain charges of corruption, is a man in a hurry and the hill people are not favourably inclined towards him. Fonia is a respected Scheduled Castes leader and has served as the Minister of Tourism in Uttar Pradesh. Koshyari is from the RSS fold.

The BJP is desperately in search of a seasoned leader for Uttaranchal who has a good track, a certain stature among the hill people and enough verve and drive to meet the long-pending aspirations of the people of Uttaranchal.

For some time, till the Uttaranchal legislators were summoned to the BJP headquarters here to ascertain their views on the leadership question, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K C Pant appeared to be a frontrunner.

The Uttaranchal legislators told the BJP central leadership without naming Pant that they would not accept a rank outsider as the Chief Minister of Uttaranchal. Besides, Pant whose family hails from Nainital has earned the ire of not only the BJP legislators but the people at large of Uttaranchal for his hoi polloi, nose-in-the-cloud attitude.

These legislators made it clear that if Pant is foisted on the people of Uttaranchal, the fallout will be disastrous. The BJP cannot afford to overlook the litany of complaints against Pant. Then during last year’s general election, Pant shied away from taking part in electoral politics even though the Nainital seat was offered to him.

The BJP enjoys brute majority in Uttaranchal to form the government in Dehra Dun. At the same time, the rag tag opposition comprising the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the CPI are trying to make their presence felt by trying to fan a hostile movement. They are sore that the BJP has ignored them and has not even shown the courtesy of consulting them on any issue pertaining to Uttaranchal.

The riddle about the Uttaranchal leadership has to be resolved early next week and in any case before November 8. A dark horse can emerge in Maj Gen B C Khanduri, a member of the Lok Sabha from Uttaranchal.