By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 12 Nov: The Congress High Command’s late-night decision yesterday, to reappoint former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Chief Ganesh Godiyal as the new Uttarakhand Congress President marks a crucial turning point for the party in the state. Godiyal replaces Karan Mahara, the very leader who had earlier succeeded him. The change was anticipated as it was widely being discussed in Congress circles in past few months. According to the political analysts, Congress has attempted to re-energise the organisation and prepare it for the next Assembly elections which are barely a year and a half away.
This is the second term for Godiyal as PCC Chief and it comes at a time when the Congress is struggling for political relevance in Uttarakhand as in the rest of the Hindi belt in India. Since 2014, the party has suffered an unbroken streak of electoral setbacks, failing to win even a single Lok Sabha seat in three consecutive parliamentary elections and losing the 2017 Assembly polls to the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2022, it failed to maintain the established pattern of alternating governments in the state and allowed the BJP to retain power for a consecutive term, a first in Uttarakhand’s short political history.
For Godiyal, therefore, the challenge is a daunting one. He inherits a dispirited organisation which has been repeatedly criticised even within its own ranks for functioning like a “friendly opposition”. His foremost responsibility will be to infuse life into the demoralised cadre, restore faith among workers, and rebuild the party’s connection with the masses. Known for his amiable disposition and patient organisational approach, Godiyal is seen as someone capable of bringing warring factions together, a task that has become essential for any hope of revival. His appointment also reflects the High Command’s preference for a consensus-oriented leadership style, one that can steady the party’s course ahead of the 2027 polls.
Karan Mahara is known to be a protégé of Harish Rawat, but over the past one year or so, Ganesh Godiyal had reportedly grown closer to Rawat. Mahara had shown commendable effort in maintaining the party’s visibility during his tenure. He held frequent press conferences, kept levelling serious allegations against the government, and even led a padyatra to Kedarnath to draw attention to people’s issues. Yet, despite his public engagements, he was unable to convert rhetoric into tangible momentum on the ground or win the confidence and trust of the party cadre. The Congress, under his leadership, remained largely factional and generally unresponsive to the growing dominance of the BJP. The latest change thus appears to be a response to growing concerns within the organisation that the party was losing both direction and discipline.
In addition to Godiyal’s reappointment as the PCC Chief, the Congress High Command has implemented sweeping changes across the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee. It has reaffirmed faith in senior leaders such as Pritam Singh and Harak Singh Rawat, both influential figures commanding strong local support. The party has nominated Pritam Singh as a member of the Central Election Committee in place of Harish Rawat who had led the party’s previous election campaign in the state. Former Cabinet Minister Dr Harak Singh Rawat, who had long been on the sidelines, has been appointed as Chairman of the Election Management Committee. Dr Rawat and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat had shared a strained relationship for a long time, but of late both leaders have shown a softened stance towards each other.
Veteran party leader and former Chief Minister, Harish Rawat seems to have been pushed into the background. Within party circles, this is being viewed as a conscious shift towards a post-Rawat era, one that aims to cultivate a fresh leadership mix less dependent on a single towering personality. Yashpal Arya has been retained as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, maintaining continuity in the legislative wing. However, the organisational balance has tilted distinctly towards the Garhwal region in the restructured PCC.
The reorganisation of the party has not been limited to the PCC only. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has announced new district and city presidents across almost the entire state, signalling a complete overhaul of local leadership structures. Dehradun is an exception and, here, Dr Jaswinder Singh Gogi has been retained as Dehradun Mahanagar Congress President, though only time will tell for how long. Appointments have been made in twelve of the thirteen districts and in key urban centres, totalling twenty-seven new presidents from organisational perspective. Among those entrusted with new responsibilities are Bhupendra Singh Bhoj in Almora, Arjun Chandra Bhatt in Bageshwar, Suresh Dimri in Chamoli, Chirag Singh Fartyal in Champawat, Baleshwar Singh in Haridwar, and Rahul Chimwal in Nainital. In the politically sensitive Garhwal region, Vinod Singh Negi will head the Pauri District Congress, while Mukesh Pant takes charge of Pithoragarh. Kuldeep Kandari has been appointed in Rudraprayag, Murali Lal Khandwal in Tehri Garhwal, Himanshu Gaba in Udham Singh Nagar, and Pradeep Singh Rawat in Uttarkashi.
Govind Singh Bisht will head Haldwani Mahanagar Congress as president, Alka Pal has been appointed for Kashipur, and Mamata Rani for Rudrapur. Aman Garg has been appointed as Haridwar Mahanagar Congress President, while Vikas Negi and Meena Devi have been appointed for the Kotdwar district and city units respectively. Deepak Kirola is new Ranikhet President, while Furkan Ahmad has been appointed as President of Roorkee Congress organisational district, while Rajendra Kumar Chaudhary has been appointed President of Roorkee City Congress.
These appointments indicate that some intensive exercise has been done before this huge reshuffle and it appears that the party is trying to rebuild the organisation and to bridge the widening disconnect between the leadership and the grassroots. After a decade of electoral drought, the party appears to have realised that reviving its presence in Uttarakhand requires not only centralised leadership but also effective local units capable of translating policy positions into public action.
With the PCC chief having been replaced, changes in the PCC organisation at the state level including the general secretaries and vice presidents and other office bearers are also expected, which will also be another daunting task for Godiyal as he would have to seek approval of the party high command in respect of each appointment.
However, with just over a year and a half left for the next Assembly elections, the Congress appears to be racing against time. The BJP continues to maintain a formidable political machine, backed by disciplined cadres and the popularity of its central leadership in particular. In contrast, the Congress’s internal divisions, ageing leadership, and lack of sustained mobilisation have eroded its once robust base. The appointment of Godiyal may bring organisational calm, but whether it can restore the party’s electoral competitiveness remains uncertain.
For the Congress, Uttarakhand has long been both an opportunity and a disappointment. The state’s history of alternating governments in each assembly election had offered it hope of a natural comeback, but the 2022 result shattered that expectation. Godiyal’s return as PCC chief is therefore not merely a routine appointment, it represents perhaps the party’s last serious attempt before the next electoral battle to regain its lost political ground.
