Defiant Harish Rawat goes ahead with outreach campaign in poll-bound Uttarakhand

Former chief minister Harish Rawat on Monday went ahead with his public outreach campaign in poll-bound Uttarakhand even as the Congress’s state in-charge, Kumari Selja, requested him against doing so.

Selja cited the assembly elections, which are due in the state next year, and said the Congress should put up a united front. She added that the campaign was not discussed with the central leadership or with the Uttarakhand Congress unit chief.

“You have also, reportedly, made certain controversial statements recently. The state elections are to be held in the next few months, and the party must put up a united front. You will appreciate that any such parallel programme at this juncture will not be in the interest of the party,” she said in a letter to Rawat.

Rawat posted the campaign schedule on Facebook, saying it would begin in Jaspur in Udham Singh Nagar to Haldwani. “Friends, the challenge is big. But our resolve for the pride of Uttarakhand is equally firm.”

He said there was no stopping now. “Rise, move forward... we have to bring change in the state and bring Congress back! From Jaspur to Haldwani, let us meet...engage in dialogue and take forward the fight for the rights of Devbhoomi [Uttarakhand],” Rawat wrote on Facebook.

This Congress is preparing to intensify its activities in the state ahead of the next assembly elections. Rawat has been an influential Congress figure in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party swept back to power in Uttarakhand in 2022, securing 47 seats in the 70-member House. The Congress managed only 19, ending a trend of alternating power between the two parties every five years.