Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat might go in for a much-awaited cabinet reshuffle in the state to accommodate two members of the VK Bahuguna faction in place of the party’s alliance partner Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), sources said on Sunday.
The reshuffle is likely to occur at the end of February or in March, sources said, adding that there were strong indications to this effect as the Vijay Bahuguna (former chief minister) camp had been demanding representation of its members in the cabinet for long from the central leadership.
The latter might condescend to their demand keeping in mind the party’s winnability in the state elections due next year, sources said. The Congress has seven and the PDF four members in Rawat’s cabinet.
Sources said that Rawat during his two-day visit had failed to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, but had a talk on the issue with other top leaders who reportedly advised him to look into the Bahuguna camp’s demand.
However, official sources of the party denied any such move in the near future. State Congress vice-president Jot Singh Bisht said, “I don’t have any idea regarding the cabinet reshuffle. As far as we know, the CM’s Delhi visit was limited to a few official engagements. There is no reason to believe the cabinet reshuffle talks.”
{{/usCountry}}However, official sources of the party denied any such move in the near future. State Congress vice-president Jot Singh Bisht said, “I don’t have any idea regarding the cabinet reshuffle. As far as we know, the CM’s Delhi visit was limited to a few official engagements. There is no reason to believe the cabinet reshuffle talks.”
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