Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s decision to call a two-day session of the State Assembly (July 4 and 5), ostensibly to clear the State Budget, has raised red flags in the BJP.
“We do anticipate that the Chief Minister will get the Budget cleared and try and dissolve the Assembly early. He has distributed so many political IOUs that he may have to call early elections to fulfil them,” said BJP general secretary in charge for the State Kailash Vijaywargiya. Elections are due in January 2017, but Mr. Vijaywargiya feels that it could be called as early as in October. Uncertainty over the Budget has been prevailing in Uttarakhand since March 18, when 35 members of the Assembly sought a division of votes on the appropriation bill on the State’s Budget. Speaker Govind Kunjwal had declared the Budget as passed, but Central Ministers have been making claims to the contrary.
The generally held opinion in the party is that Mr. Rawat will try to maximise the “sympathy factor” arising out of his government being dismissed and the State being placed under President’s rule.
BJP chief Amit Shah will be touring the State from Friday through Sunday. He will be visiting Rishikesh and the pilgrimage towns of Badrinath and Kedarnath, besides addressing a rally in Dehradun and attending the State unit’s executive.
Mr. Shah is likely to speak to State leaders and calm fears in the State unit after nine former Congress MLAs, including former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and State Minister Harak Singh Rawat, were inducted into the party after they rebelled against their party.
The induction of at least one MP from the State into the Union Council of Ministers is also likely in the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle. Sources say that Almora MP Ajay Tamta could make the cut, whenever the reshuffle takes place.
