NEW DELHI: Congress leader and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has created a flutter by claiming that several BJP leaders from the state are in touch with him to cross over to his party. However, he said, the Congress was not in a hurry and that the party was adopting a wait and watch policy ahead of the next year’s assembly election.
"The Congress is not in a hurry to take any decision on BJP rebels. However, many of them are in touch with us and a final call will be taken at an appropriate time," Rawat said.
Though Rawat did not disclose any names, it is being speculated that the leaders who had crossed from the Congress to the BJP were eyeing a comeback. Some others from the BJP are also looking to join the party.
Many prominent leaders, including ex-chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, former ministers Harak Singh Rawat, Satpal Maharaj and Yashpal Arya had left the Congress for the saffron party, but some of them are reportedly upset ever since the BJP last month appointed Pushkar Singh Dhami as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand.
Rawat, who was appointed as chairperson of the Congress’s election campaign committee earlier this month, said there was no dearth of issues in the state as unemployment and inflation were on the rise. The BJP government was in a denial mode, but the public was very much aware of the hardships they were facing, he said.
Rejecting BJP's charge of neglect during the 2013 Kedarnath floods when the Congress was in power in the state and he was the CM, Rawat said that relief and rehabilitation works were carried out during the Congress tenure.
He also said that the BJP should instead talk about its Covid mismanagement and the subsequent rise in unemployment in the state.
Rawat further said that ahead of the assembly elections scheduled next year, the Congress will come up with a roadmap and tell the people how it will work for their benefit.
He alleged that the BJP had changed three CMs in the state in recent times and its leaders are fighting for themselves, and not working for the state.
Rawat is likely to be projected as the Congress’s chief ministerial face in the run-up to next year's election.
Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi recently appointed Ganesh Godiyal as the party's Uttarakhand unit chief, replacing Pritam Singh who was named the legislative party leader.
Jeet Ram, Bhuwan Kapri, Tilak Raj Behar and Ranjeet Rawat have been appointed as the party's working presidents in Uttarakhand.
(With inputs from IANS)
