Uttarakhand Congress awaits new committee for past two years

DEHRADUN: After the 2017 assembly polls debacle, Kishore Upadhyay, the then state chief of Congress was replaced with Pritam Singh. It has been well over two years since Singh took charge but he is yet to get his new team.
Having already faced defeat in the assembly by-poll and urban local body elections, Congress is soon going to back candidates for panchayat polls and contest the Pithoragarh assembly by-poll.However, despite the challenges, the party members continue to wait for the new committee.
Presently, the party has 40 vice-presidents, 52 general secretaries and over 200 secretaries. When Kishore Upadhyay took over as the state chief in 2014, he was given 23 vice-presidents, 28 general secretaries and 60 secretaries from the party’s central leadership. In due course of time, he was successful in getting more seniors adjusted for the various posts in the state committee, which has continued till date.
Making the situation worse, Congress state top brass has been at loggerheads and their differences have been visible on several occasions. While former CM Harish Rawat has involved himself in an anti-drug campaign, Upadhyay who has been reportedly ignored in various party events, has been raising the cause of forest rights and reservation in central government jobs. Interestingly, these campaigns have been more of an individual effort rather than a party stand.
A party insider said, “The situation is an alarming one. We have been reduced to 11 assembly seats and have lost all 5 Lok Sabha seats again, Urban local body polls were in favour of the BJP and the Congress lost the Tharali assembly by-poll. Now, serious efforts are required before the panchayat polls and the Pithoragarh assembly by-poll.” He added that while the BJP has announced area-wise party in-charge for the panchayat polls, the Congress is yet to hold any official meeting.
When contacted, chief spokesperson of Congress for Uttarakhand, Mathura Dutt Joshi claimed, “The list is final and after the approval of the central leadership, it will be announced any time.” He added that the district units have been alerted for the panchayat polls. “Candidates, who can be backed, are being identified and the results will be in our favour,” said the Congress leader.