Damage limitation in Uttarakhand
Once bitten twice shy, it is said. This seems to have driven the BJP to sack Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat with just a year left in his tenure. It is said that the BJP was wary of repeating what happened in Jharkhand, where former chief minister Raghubar Das had become very unpopular. Das was accused of being inaccessible, arrogant and a control freak. This had upset many party members, elected and otherwise, and they had complained about it to the high command. But for some reason, the party refused to change Das and the result was the saffron party’s defeat in the 2019 elections in the state. Like Das, Rawat was perceived to be short-tempered, suspicious and dismissive of his party MLAs and leaders. He relied more on the bureaucracy to run the government and kept more than 40 departments to himself, including home, finance and health. Obviously he could not do justice to all of them, resulting in poor governance on many fronts.
The change of guard in Uttarakhand marks a first in the way the BJP top leadership has run the party. It had refused to change CMs even when the satraps have come under fire for their administrative, political and personal lapses. Take for instance the Manipur and Tripura chief ministers. Both faced a strong rebellion and the dissidents lobbied for a change. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb has also often been roasted for his foot in the mouth and immature comments, such as the presence of internet during the days of the Mahabharata. Yet, the BJP leadership persisted with all the CMs, the exception being Rawat. This change of tack is perhaps dictated by the party’s thinking, wherein winning elections is paramount. For the saffron party, even panchayat and municipal elections are as important as state and parliamentary polls. With such an outlook, the party was concerned at the growing discontent in its Uttarakhand unit. With anger in the party ranks and a challenge mounted by the Congress and a fledgling AAP, it could ill afford the drift. So in the end, Rawat has only himself to blame for his downfall.