Harish Rawat meets Congress high command, affirms will lead Uttarakhand campaign

Moments after meeting the Congress high command, senior leader Harish Rawat on Friday affirmed that he is going to lead the party's campaign in the Uttarakhand Assembly polls. The 73-year-old added that the representatives of Congress will support him, and they will together lead the party to victory in the polls scheduled for 2022. 

"Kadam Kadam milaye ja, Congress ke jeet ke dhun gaye ja. Zingadi hai Uttarakhand ke vaaste, Uttarakhand par lutae jaa (Keep marching forward in unison, sing praises of the Congress, this life is for Uttarakhand, devote it to Uttarakhand)," Rawat said while addressing media after the meeting. The meeting with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi came after Harish Rawat dropped a tweet expressing dissatisfaction against the functioning of the party.  

Harish Rawat's 'suppression' remark

In a thread of tweets, Harish Rawat claimed that he was not getting the support of the party organisation at the grassroots level without which it will be difficult to fight the election. Without taking anyone's name, he accused the Congress leadership's representatives in the state of suppressing him.

Harish Rawat remarked, "Isn't it strange that the organisational structure in most places is turning its back and playing a negative role instead of extending cooperation when we have to swim in the sea of elections? The power has left many crocodiles in the sea which we have to swim. The representatives of the people on whose instructions I have to swim have tied my hands and feet."

"It has often come to my mind that enough is enough, Harish Rawat. I have swum enough, now is the time for rest," he conceded, adding, however, that he will face the challenges head-on instead of running away.

The tweet got people guessing, with reports coming in that the former Uttarakhand CM will announce his own regional party. There were also reports that he would make an announcement in regards to his party on 5 January 2021. Instead of falsifying the reports, the 73-year-old was heard saying to the media that he would call them soon and that they would be the first to know if there was anything.