By Sidharth Mishra
Politics is all about ironies. The 69-year-old Congress Seva Dal volunteer who has emerged as the symbol of resurrection for the Congress party was trusted the least by its leadership till the crisis broke out in the Himalayan state.
Having been ousted from office on March 26 under a Presidential decree, Harish Rawat is now all set to return to the Secretariat on Subhash Road as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday recommended to the President to lift Central rule in the state after the apex court certified that the Congress enjoyed majority on the floor of state assembly. There is unanimity among political pundits that there is just one winner from the whole crisis and that’s Harish Rawat. Not known to enjoy close proximity to either Congress president Sonia Gandhi or vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Rawat drew his own roadmap, piloted his resources and remained steadfast despite immense pressure brought by the Centre including the threat of a CBI probe.
With high command’s loyalist Vijay Bahuguna leading the revolt, Congress central leadership was in a fix on how to handle the crisis. At this juncture, Rawat told the party top brass that political management be left to his skills and the Central leadership should focus on the legal battles. This was done effectively with former Union Minister Kapil Sibal and Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi repeatedly donning the robe to challenge the Centre’s moves inside courtrooms.
The fierce court room battles managed to give Congress the initial political advantage. Thereafter Rawat used the experience of his long political innings to keep his flock in order. He neutralized influence of rivals Satpal Maharaj and Vijay Bahuguna within the Congress legislature party and used his personal emissaries to persuade BSP chief Mayawati to direct her MLAs to vote for the Congress government. He demonstrated his astute political acumen in having senior ministers Indira Hridayesh and Yashpal Arya, both protégés of Rawat’s longtime nemesis party veteran Narayan Dutt Tiwari, standing beside him to give strength to their moves.
Having realised the position of pre-eminence he has now come to enjoy, Rawat on Wednesday showed he was in no hurry. When asked when he was going to Delhi to meet Sonia and Rahul, he said soon after the reinstatement of his government and added in the same vein that he would also meet PM Narendra Modi and FM Arun Jaitley during the trip.
Next year, when the state goes to polls, Rawat would enter the fray brimming with confidence of being the undisputed leader of the Congress. The BJP, on the other hand would be grappling with the problem of plenty finding ways and means to accommodate the 9 Congress rebels. (Courtesy Millennium Post)
