Intense tussle between two Rawats in Cong also
PrashantNews
When the BJP declared its second list of candidates on Wednesday, the political fortunes of two big Rawats, who were both former Chief Ministers in Uttarakhand, went up and down at the same time.
On a day when BJP dropped sitting MP Tirath Singh Rawat from Pauri Lok Sabha seat, it reposed faith in Trivendra Singh Rawat in Haridwar constituency.
Interestingly, this was the second political setback to the bearded Tirath Singh Rawat, a protégé of former Chief Minister B C Khanduri, within a short span of three years. Earlier, Rawat was asked to resign in less than four months after he was chosen as Chief Minister in March, 2021 in place of Trivendra Singh Rawat. The bearded Rawat was forced to resign because the Election Commission showed its inability to hold byelections due to covid pandemic.
This time BJP has chosen its spokesman Anil Baluni, who will be facing the Lok Sabha election for the first time, to contest from Pauri.
Besides dropping Rawat from Pauri, the BJP high command has sidelined one more former chief minister – Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank from Haridwar. In Haridwar, Nishank has been replaced by Trivendra Singh Rawat. Immediately after the Covid pandemic, Nishank was removed from the post of Union Minister of Education. Just like Rawats, this was also double whammy for Nishank.
In 2017, Trivendra Singh Rawat was a surprise choice when he was selected for the post of the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand apparently due to his closeness with BJP strongman Amit Shah. But four years later, he was suddenly removed in the midst of the budget session of the state assembly in Gairsain. The reasons for his removal were not known. But Rawat never gave up on his political ambitions. He remained active in the party most of the time. But despite remaining active, he was denied ticket in the 2022 assembly election.
Now almost three years after his removal from the top job, Rawat has again been brought back politically by the BJP high command to contest from Haridwar constituency in place of Nishank. Interestingly, Rawat along with a group of BJP MLAs had spearheaded a campaign to oust the then Chief Minister B C Khanduri in 2009. Buckling under the pressure, the BJP high command decided to change horses in midstream bringing Nishank in place of Khanduri.
There is another interesting political tussle in Congress camp brewing in Haridwar between two big Rawats – one former Chief Minister Harish Rawat and other former cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat. The two Rawats are trying to outwit each other to grab Congress ticket from Haridwar. The Congress has so far not declared its candidate from Haridwar. But sources close to Harish Rawat said he has also forwarded the name of his son Virender Rawat from Haridwar.