03-02-2007, 12:25 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Khanduri makes it after day-long drama</b>
Pioneer.com
Sidharth Mishra/Pioneer News Service | New Delhi/Dehradun
Koshiary holds out till the end
Trained to build bridges in difficult terrains, Maj Gen BC Khanduri, a retired army engineer, overcame one of the severest challenges of his career to emerge as the leader of the BJP legislature party in Uttarakhand on Thursday and staked claim as the next Chief Minister of the state. Party general secretary Gopinath Munde announced the decision of the party at the stroke of nine in the evening after a marathon six-hour-long meeting at a hotel in Dehradun.
After the decision of the Central Parliamentary Board on Tuesday to back Khanduri's candidature for the top post in the hill state, the meeting of the legislature party in Dehradun was believed to be just a formality. However, it proved otherwise. Â
Party's spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad, who had campaigned in Uttarakhand for about a month supervising campaign, was assigned the job to bring the other contender Bhagat Singh Koshiary, the president of party's Uttarakhand unit, to agree to the high command's decision. Koshiary, however, proved a hard nut to crack putting-up a spirited fight in the support of his candidature.
<b>While both the leaders enjoy clean image, the party leadership backed Khanduri for his administrative skills. Koshiary, a former Chief Minister, on the other hand is seen as a soft and malleable leader</b>. With absence of governance a major issue in the polls, the BJP could not have risked letting its government go the preceding government's way.
On the other hand, Khanduri's contribution in building a network of roads in the hills during his tenure as the Minister for Surface Transport in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government was flaunted by the BJP as one of its major achievements. To Koshiary's advantage was his hold on the party organization. An old RSS hand, Koshiary is credited with setting-up of the network of Saraswati Shiksha Sadans in the Kumaon hills, his stronghold.
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With fissures emerging,<b> the Congress to decided to fish in troubled waters with state party chief Harish Rawat raising the bogey of Brahmin versus Thakur</b>. With party two short of majority, the matters were not helped with the three MLAs of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal agreeing to support a BJP Government only if Koshiary
was made the Chief Minister. Incidentally the UKD legislators stationed themselves at a resort in Rishikesh, which is a favourite with Rawat. Ironically the BJP legislators too met in a hotel, which is owned by a Minister in the outgoing Congress government.
The meeting of the legislators, which was scheduled to begin at 3 pm on Thursday finally began an hour late in the presence of Central party observers Gopinath Munde, OP Mathur, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Khanduri, Koshiary, party MP from Almora Bachi Singh Rawat and Manohar Kant Dhyani, a former party Rajya Sabha member from the state. The meeting was preceded by confabulations between the leaders, which failed to make Koshiary concede and agree to become Speaker. Thereafter they came for the meeting and adjourned it after 15 minutes and went to a separate room. Each MLA was called and apprised of the party high command's decision individually in the room. A bogey of the RSS' choice was raised by some legislators. This made party's organizing secretary Ram Lal leave the venue to ostensibly hold consultations with RSS brass. He returned at around 7.30 pm when the MLAs were once again reassembled in the banquet hall of the hotel. Ram Lal apprised the MLAs that the RSS did not have any particular choice as it was matter to be decided by the BJP leadership, which was for electing General Khanduri as the next Chief Minister.
At this point a few Koshiary supporters raised the query of the remaining support of two MLAs for majority on the floor of the House. At this point of time, the General came out trumps with the names of the two independent MLAs, who have pledged support to his Chief Ministerial candidature.
Seeing the game slipping out of his hand, Koshiary then threw one last tantrum of not accompanying Khanduri to Raj Bhawan, where Governor Sudharshan Aggarwal has been waiting since 7.45 pm. Here Dhyani and Bachi Rawat counseled Koshiary to join the party in its hour of glory.
Finally the cavalcade led by Khanduri and accompanied by Koshiary and others reached Raj Bhawan at 9.55 pm to stake claim for forming the next government. The Governor informed the delegation that with the Election Commission was likely to notify the constitution of the new house on Friday, the claim of Gen Khanduri would be accordingly processed.<b> The General at the earliest could be sworn in Saturday. </b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Why they call it drama? It is a part of democratically process. Itâs a healthy process.
Pioneer.com
Sidharth Mishra/Pioneer News Service | New Delhi/Dehradun
Koshiary holds out till the end
Trained to build bridges in difficult terrains, Maj Gen BC Khanduri, a retired army engineer, overcame one of the severest challenges of his career to emerge as the leader of the BJP legislature party in Uttarakhand on Thursday and staked claim as the next Chief Minister of the state. Party general secretary Gopinath Munde announced the decision of the party at the stroke of nine in the evening after a marathon six-hour-long meeting at a hotel in Dehradun.
After the decision of the Central Parliamentary Board on Tuesday to back Khanduri's candidature for the top post in the hill state, the meeting of the legislature party in Dehradun was believed to be just a formality. However, it proved otherwise. Â
Party's spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad, who had campaigned in Uttarakhand for about a month supervising campaign, was assigned the job to bring the other contender Bhagat Singh Koshiary, the president of party's Uttarakhand unit, to agree to the high command's decision. Koshiary, however, proved a hard nut to crack putting-up a spirited fight in the support of his candidature.
<b>While both the leaders enjoy clean image, the party leadership backed Khanduri for his administrative skills. Koshiary, a former Chief Minister, on the other hand is seen as a soft and malleable leader</b>. With absence of governance a major issue in the polls, the BJP could not have risked letting its government go the preceding government's way.
On the other hand, Khanduri's contribution in building a network of roads in the hills during his tenure as the Minister for Surface Transport in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government was flaunted by the BJP as one of its major achievements. To Koshiary's advantage was his hold on the party organization. An old RSS hand, Koshiary is credited with setting-up of the network of Saraswati Shiksha Sadans in the Kumaon hills, his stronghold.
Â
With fissures emerging,<b> the Congress to decided to fish in troubled waters with state party chief Harish Rawat raising the bogey of Brahmin versus Thakur</b>. With party two short of majority, the matters were not helped with the three MLAs of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal agreeing to support a BJP Government only if Koshiary
was made the Chief Minister. Incidentally the UKD legislators stationed themselves at a resort in Rishikesh, which is a favourite with Rawat. Ironically the BJP legislators too met in a hotel, which is owned by a Minister in the outgoing Congress government.
The meeting of the legislators, which was scheduled to begin at 3 pm on Thursday finally began an hour late in the presence of Central party observers Gopinath Munde, OP Mathur, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Khanduri, Koshiary, party MP from Almora Bachi Singh Rawat and Manohar Kant Dhyani, a former party Rajya Sabha member from the state. The meeting was preceded by confabulations between the leaders, which failed to make Koshiary concede and agree to become Speaker. Thereafter they came for the meeting and adjourned it after 15 minutes and went to a separate room. Each MLA was called and apprised of the party high command's decision individually in the room. A bogey of the RSS' choice was raised by some legislators. This made party's organizing secretary Ram Lal leave the venue to ostensibly hold consultations with RSS brass. He returned at around 7.30 pm when the MLAs were once again reassembled in the banquet hall of the hotel. Ram Lal apprised the MLAs that the RSS did not have any particular choice as it was matter to be decided by the BJP leadership, which was for electing General Khanduri as the next Chief Minister.
At this point a few Koshiary supporters raised the query of the remaining support of two MLAs for majority on the floor of the House. At this point of time, the General came out trumps with the names of the two independent MLAs, who have pledged support to his Chief Ministerial candidature.
Seeing the game slipping out of his hand, Koshiary then threw one last tantrum of not accompanying Khanduri to Raj Bhawan, where Governor Sudharshan Aggarwal has been waiting since 7.45 pm. Here Dhyani and Bachi Rawat counseled Koshiary to join the party in its hour of glory.
Finally the cavalcade led by Khanduri and accompanied by Koshiary and others reached Raj Bhawan at 9.55 pm to stake claim for forming the next government. The Governor informed the delegation that with the Election Commission was likely to notify the constitution of the new house on Friday, the claim of Gen Khanduri would be accordingly processed.<b> The General at the earliest could be sworn in Saturday. </b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Why they call it drama? It is a part of democratically process. Itâs a healthy process.