DEHRADUN: Everybody in poll-bound Uttarakhand appears sure why Harish Rawat, the Congress campaign in-charge, is upset. Yet nobody knows what he is up to.
The former CM chose Twitter to blow off some steam. Among many things, he was dismayed at being “left to swim with his hands tied in the sea of elections with crocodiles around.”
The indication was clear: he is upset with rivals within his party, and that he is unable to do much about it. Rawat’s self-lamentation came almost a week after his posters were removed from Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Dehradun.
“Those who cannot read the writing on the wall, no one can make them read. I know the people have this faith in me. I don’t even want any position,” said Rawat commented.
Interpretations of his remarks have been swift and sharp. “At present, he is the one who can win against the BJP. What is happening in the state is that the Pritam Singh camp has won over Devendra Yadav, Uttarakhand in-charge of the Congress. Neither Pritam nor Yadav wants Rawat as the CM. Nor would they like to see any role for him in ticket distribution. He is being cautiously sidelined,” says Jai Singh Rawat, a political analyst.
“There is definitely a rift within the party which has now come out in the open. Everybody is awaiting some result from a meeting of the state leaders with the high command,” said a party insider. PCC chief Ganesh Godiyal said he was aware that many in the organization are busy creating groups within the party, which was not a good sign.
“We’ll soon set things right with the permission of the high command. This came to my notice earlier and I have shared this with senior leaders in Delhi. It will be sorted soon.”
Meanwhile, Rawat has been trying to project himself as the CM candidate, much against the central leadership’s wish to contest the assembly polls under “collective leadership.” His critics say Rawat has always tried to eliminate his competition.
“He created troubles for ND Tiwari. In 2012, he worked against Vijay Bahuguna and then became a rival of senior leader Indira Hridayesh. Now, Pritam Singh is a threat to him,” said a political analyst.
Voices supporting Rawat’s candidature for the party’s CM face have also emerged. These include Govind Singh Kunjwal, former speaker of the Uttarakhand Assembly. Harish Dhami, Congress MLA from Dharchula, also supports Rawat as CM.