Vijay Bahuguna is in the firing line for his inept handling of the relief and rehabilitation work after last year's flash floods.
Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, in the firing line for his inept handling of the relief and rehabilitation work carried out by his government after last year's flash floods, is set to be removed as part of the organizational shakeup being planned ahead of the national elections, due by May this year.
Mr Bahuguna, 66, is likely to put in his papers tomorrow, highly-placed sources in the Congress told NDTV. Union minister Harish Rawat, who represents Haridwar in the Lok Sabha, is tipped to replace him. The decision to go in for a leadership change in Uttarakhand three months ahead of the general election was made by the Congress' central leadership after a series of discussions.
Mr Bahuguna, a surprise pick for the Uttarakhand chief minister's post after the polls held in March 2012 had thrown a hung assembly, has earned a lot of flak for his poor handling of the relief work undertaken by his government after the natural calamity that wreaked havoc in large parts of Tehri district.
Mr Bahuguna's son Saket suffered a humiliating defeat to the BJP in the by-election to the Tehri Lok Sabha constituency later that year. Mr Bahuguna's leadership has since then been called into question.
In the 2012 polls, the Congress won 32 seats in the 70-member assembly, and was only marginally ahead of the BJP, which won a seat less. Despite commanding the support of a majority of the MLAs, Mr Rawat, who too is 66 years old, found the chief minister's post eluding him. It was, instead, offered to Mr Bahuguna, the MP from Tehri. The Congress government in the state has the backing of three BSP lawmakers and the lone Uttarakhand Kranti Dal MLA. Three independent legislators too have offered their support to the Congress government.
Uttarakhand sends five members to the Lok Sabha, and the party had made a clean sweep in 2009. The BJP had drawn a blank.