Vijay Bahuguna to be sworn in as Uttarakhand Chief Minister today; Harish Rawat quits

Dehradun:  Taking a firm stance, the Congress decided to go-ahead with the swearing-in ceremony of Vijay Bahuguna as the Uttarakhand Chief Minister today. Congress leader and union minister Harish Rawat has reportedly threatened to quit the party unless he is made the Chief Minister of the state. Anguished at Vijay Bahuguna being chosen as the Chief Minister, Mr Rawat has reportedly threatened to leave the Congress and take MLAs with him. He has reportedly claimed support of 11 MLAs. Sources say Mr Rawat, who is the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs, could form his own party in the state.

The swearing-in ceremony of Mr Bahuguna as the new Chief Minister is scheduled to be held at 5 pm today.  

According to sources, Mr Rawat has written a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, saying, "he cannot execute his duties" as a Congress leader anymore unless he is made the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

This was the second time that Mr Rawat's claim has been ignored as some ten years back ND Tiwari was made the Chief Minister almost at the 11th hour by the party leadership.

The Congress, however, attempted to play down the reported revolt by Mr Rawat and his MLAs in Uttarakhand.

"The decision was taken after taking the opinion of the majority. There may be some disappointment with the decision, but I am sure with time, all leaders and their supporters would back the decision," said union minister and Congress leader Ambika Soni.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had to settle with one seat less than the Congress' tally in the Uttarakhand elections, now is sniffing an opportunity and it seems it hasn't given up its hopes on forming the government in the state.

"We have said from day one that BJP will form the government in Uttarakhand," said BJP leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari today.

Mr Bahuguna's name as Uttarakhand's new Chief Minister was announced by Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi on Monday. The announcement of the Chief Minister came after a considerable delay with Congress leaders and MLAs caught in discussions for around three days after staking claim to form the government.

Mr Rawat and Mr Bahuguna had held a two-hour meeting with Mr Azad and Birender Singh ahead of the decision.The two central leaders had then submitted their report on the views of the party's 32 MLAs on legislative party leadership to Sonia Gandhi on Sunday.

"It was decided by the MLAs and all the party leaders that Vijay Bahuguna will be the chief minister," Mr Azad announced on Monday evening. He also recalled that the party MLAs had, in their meeting after the results were out, authorised Congress president Sonia Gandhi to name the chief minister.

Congress, with 32 seats in a house of 70, had staked its claim to form a government in the Himalayan state late last week after the results on March 6 threw up a hung assembly.

Yesterday, the factional feud came out in the open in Congress' Uttarakhand unit with legislators supporting Mr Rawat protesting the announcement of Mr Bahaguna as the Chief Minister. Raising slogans, angry supporters of Mr Rawat, who gathered at his house here last 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 Mr Rawat, Mr Bahuguna, his sister and UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi met the union minister at his residence. Asked what transpired at the meeting with the brother-sister duo, Rawat said, "They had come to console a loser".

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Vijay Bahuguna to be new Uttarakhand Chief Minister

New Delhi/ Dehradun:  After nearly a week of deadlock, Uttarakhand will get a chief minister with the Congress naming its Tehri-Garhwal MP Vijay Bahuguna as the leader of its legislative party.

Bahuguna's name was announced by party leader and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in New Delhi."It was decided by the MLAs and all the party leaders that Vijay Bahuguna will be the chief minister," Mr Azad announced.He also recalled that the party MLAs had, in their meeting after the results were out, authorised Congress president Sonia Gandhi to name the chief minister.

Congress, with 32 seats in a house of 70, had staked its claim to form a government in the Himalayan state late last week after the results on March 6 threw up a hung assembly.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has 31 seats in the Uttarakhand assembly. The Congress has won the support of three Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs, apart from three independents and the lone MLA from the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal.

"A decision has been taken that Vijay Bahuguna will be the leader of the legislature party in Uttarkhand and the new chief minister," Mr Azad said in the presence of Bahuguna and Congress general secretary Chaudhary Birender Singh, who is in charge of party affairs in Uttarakhand.

Soon after his name was declared for chief ministership, Mr Bahuguna, 65, thanked Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi and said, "I will take all sections of the party along and there will be no break up,"

Mr Bahuguna is the son of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna and brother of present Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Rita Bahuguna-Joshi. He is a vice president in the Uttarakhand Congress unit. An advocate by profession, He has served as a judge of the Allahabad and Bombay High Courts. He also served as the vice chairman of the Uttarakhand Planning Commission.

The decision comes a day after Union Minister from the state Harish Rawat and Bahuguna held a two-hour meeting with Azad and Birender Singh.The two central leaders had submitted their report on the views of the party's 32 MLAs on legislative party leadership to Sonia Gandhi Sunday.

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