BJP in no mood to change Uttaranchal CM now

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, OCT. 10. A very clear signal has come from the Bharatiya Janata Party that it is not in the mood to make any change in the leadership in Uttaranchal where Assembly elections are just six months away. At the same time, senior leaders here have also indicated that ``after elections'' a new Chief Minister could certainly be considered.

There have been demands from the State that the Uttaranchal Chief Minister, Mr. Nityanand Swamy, be replaced. One of the ``charges'' against him is that he is not a native of the Uttar Pradesh hills. It is also being said that he has not been able to show the dynamism expected of the Chief Minister of a newly- created State.

It seems that the central leadership here has been giving a patient hearing to disgruntled elements in the State unit who want the Chief Minister changed before the elections as they fear that the party will not be able to do well in the polls under Mr. Swamy.

However, it seems that after just having replaced the Chief Minister in Gujarat - Mr. Keshubhai Patel was forced to make way for Mr. Narendra Modi - the party does not want to carry out a similar operation in Uttaranchal with elections round the corner. Mr. Kushabhau Thakre, former BJP president and the man in charge of the political affairs in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, today stated categorically that although there have been some demands for Mr. Swamy's removal, the party was not inclined to go in for this type of major surgery before elections.

It is well known in the party that Major General (retired) B.C. Khanduri, an MP, is expected to be a front runner for the Chief Minister's post after the elections. But for now, status quo will be maintained.

Interestingly, Mr. Thakre was not willing to rule out the appointment of a new Chief Minister after the polls. ``After the elections, the new Legislature party will get an opportunity to elect its leader,'' he said.

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Section  : National
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