Ignored for U’khand CM, Rawat resigned as minister

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat is reported to have resigned from the post after the Congress high command on Monday named Vijay Bahaguna as the next Uttarakhand chief minister.

Reports said Rawat has sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Rawat was quoted as saying today that it was difficult to work under the current circumstances.

Also, there are fears of Uttarakhand Congress breaking up as with 16 MLAs supporting Rawat reported to be mulling quitting the national party and floating a new political party. The MLAs are likely to meet the state Governor later today.

Rawat was the frontrunner to head the Congress-led coalition in Uttarakhand after the recent Assembly polls. However, the naming of Bahuguna as brought the factional feud to the fore.

Raising slogans, angry supporters of Rawat, who gathered at his house here Monday night, wanted to know why he was ignored for the top slot and egged him to split the party.

In a bid to placate a sulking Rawat, Bahuguna, his sister and UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi met the Union minister at his residence.

Emerging from the meeting, Rawat had said, "I am a Congressman, thorough and thorough".

Asked what transpired at the meeting with the brother-sister duo, Rawat said, "They had come to console a loser".

Replying to a question as to how many MLAs backed him, Rawat declined to specify the number and merely said, "All of them are Sonia Gandhi's MLAs. They came to console me and I also consoled them. I'm a loser."

Asked if he would boycott Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony of Bahuguna as Chief Minister, Rawat said, "I have a sore throat and am not keeping well. Let's see."

Sonia Gandhi, who was authorised by party MLAs to take a decision in the matter, chose Bahuguna after taking the views of party MPs and MLAs.

The choice of Bahuguna, a cousin of outgoing BJP chief minister BC Khanduri, was made by Gandhi after the party high command had grappled with the issue for days amid diverse pulls and pressures created by several claimants to the top post and demand by independent MLAs whose support is crucial to Congress' securing majority and formation of government.

Bahuguna would be sworn in as new chief minister of Uttarkahand at a function in Dehradun this evening. Governor Margaret Alva would administer the oath to 65-year-old Bahuguna.

Mayawati is expected to speak to media before resigning

A day after being dethroned from power in Uttar Pradesh, outgoing Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati will on Wednesday meet the state Governor to submit her resignation.

Prior to submitting her resignation, Mayawati is expected to speak to media.

It should be noted that during her tenure as UP CM, Mayawati rarely met the press and when she did, rarely answered any questions.

On Tuesday, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) hopes for a revival in the country’s most populous state were dashed as Uttar Pradesh's 12.73 crore voters rallied behind the Samajwadi Party's (SP) to hand it a stunning victory over the BSP.

Winning 224 seats, the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party is set to form the government in the state with a comfortable majority in the 403-member Assembly. Its performance comes as quantum jump to 2007 when it was voted out of power and got just 97 seats.

The BSP has been literally wiped out, securing 80 wins now against its unprecedented 206 seats in 2007.

Meanwhile, the BJP with 47 seats has slipped from its earlier standing of 51 seats in 2007 but then it was in alliance with the Apna Dal.

The real loser was the Congress.

Though the party fared slightly better from its 22 seat tally of 2007 by getting 28 wins, the party faced humiliation with a complete rout in Amethi and Rae Bareilly - bastions of the Gandhi family, seats which are held in the Lok Sabha by general secretary Rahul Gandhi and party chief Sonia Gandhi respectively.

Independents and other small parties who won 16 seats in the 2007 state Assembly polls managed 14 seats this time.

Election results: Majority eludes Congress, BJP in Uttarakhand

After a hung verdict, both Congress and BJP have staked claim to form the government in Uttarakhand. Both the parties have called their wining candidates to capital Dehra Dun for the legislative party meeting today. The Congress has emerged as the single largest party in the state with 32 seats, ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a notch in the 70-member Uttarakhand assembly.

The Congress leaders in Uttarakhand have left for Delhi to discuss strategy with their senior leaders. These leaders met the Governor late night but BJP is also not ready to leave the claim.

"We should be invited to form the government and asked to prove majority on the floor of the House where we should be able to prove majority," said BC Khanduri, the incumbent Chief Minister.

But the real power lies with four independent MLAs - Dinesh Dhanai from Tehri, Harish Durgapal from Lalkuwa, Mantri Prasad Naithani, an independent MLA from Deoprayag, and Pritam Singh Panwar, from the Uttrakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) - who are now much in demand.

The first three are ex-Congress MLAs who had quit this year when denied tickets by the party. The UKD had supported the BJP government in 2007, but subsequently split before this election. It too can play a crucial role.

And then there is Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Though routed in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, it holds the key to the government formation in the hill state where it bagged three seats, losing four from its 2007 tally of seven.

The BJP got 31, three down from last time, while others, including independents, together won four seats. Their support along with the BSP will decide who will lead the next government in the state.

"I would like to have more numbers, at least 37. We will speak to them and see what they want and if they can be accommodated," said Mr Khanduri.

The major setback for the ruling BJP was the loss of Mr Khanduri, who had led the poll campaign with a slogan of "Khanduri hain zaroori". He was defeated by Congress' SS Negi in Kotdwar constituency by over 4,500 votes.

A retired Army officer, Mr Khanduri was re-appointed chief minister of Uttarakhand last September following corruption charges against his predecessor Ramesh Pokhriyal. A known Khanduri bete noire, Mr Pokhriyal, however, won from the Doiwala constituency defeating Congress' Heera Singh Bisht by 1,272 votes.

Meanwhile, the Congress too expressed confidence that they would form the new government.

"The Congress is forming the party on its own, or with a little support," said Vijay Bahuguna, Congress MP from Tehri who yesterday staked claim to form the next government in the state. The Governor is yet to take a decision.

Yesterday, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi had said that "there are some undecided people", indicating that his party would be talking to smaller parties to seek their support.

Mr Khanduri's magic may not have won him his seat, but has kept the BJP in the game. While the Congress met the Governor to assert their position, a lot will depend on which party manages to persuade the remaining MLAs to shore up their numbers.

Team Anna invites Baba Ramdev for poll campaigning

Team Anna has invited yoga guru Baba Ramdev to campaign along with it in the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttarakhand.

The Uttarakhand Assembly is going to polls on January 30.

Team Anna is campaigning in all poll-bound states against corruption and for a strong Lokpal Bill.

The invitation to Baba Ramdev comes just days after he became the target of an ink attack in New Delhi.

Baba Ramdev has been campaigning against black money for quite some time.