Pokhriyal out, Khanduri in

NEW DELHI: BJP on Saturday sacked Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and decided to replace him with B C Khanduri -- the former Union highways minister who Pokhriyal had succeeded two years ago.
The musical chairs was concluded at a meeting of top BJP leaders after which party president Nitin Gadkari announced the change. Although Gadkari said there were no charges against Pokhriyal, the party is understood to have been worried about reports of corruption and poor administration trickling in from the hill state.
In choosing Khanduri, the BJP has taken a gamble. While the leader has a clean image and is seen as a good administrator, he is likely to face opposition from state leaders like Bhagat Singh Koshiyari apart from Pokhriyal. But with elections due in 2012, the party feels Khanduri's acceptability is much more than any other leader and will be BJP's best bet.
Khanduri -- who earned a reputation for developing the highways programme in the Vajpayee government -- will also have to overcome criticism that he is aloof and does not interact with party MLAs. But BJP is looking to him to deliver some quick results by revving the administration and changing the trends reflected in Congress winning all five Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2009. "In an election Khanduri's image will be a plus," said party sources.
The Congress fancies its chances and minister for parliamentary affairs Harish Rawat is a likely chief ministerial contender, but the party suffers from factional problems. Rawat does not pull along with veteran leader N D Tiwari who, despite the controversies surrounding him, remains a factor in the state. Without Khanduri, BJP leaders feel the party may no chance of arresting its slide.
The BJP parliamentary board had held a meeting on September 8 to discuss the party's prospects in Uttarakhand and the need for a change in leadership. While Pokhriyal earlier denied any knowledge of the decision to replace him, he did not put up much resistance to the central decision.
Other than Gadkari, the meeting was attended by Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh -- who is incharge of Uttarakhand elections -- and Dharmendra Pradhan and Thawar Chand Gehlot.