New Delhi: Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has chosen to defy the Congress high command, going ahead with his ‘Dhanyawad evam Jansamvad Yatra’ from Jaspur to Haldwani starting Monday, despite being asked to put his public outreach programmes on hold.
Rawat’s decision came days after Congress general secretary and Uttarakhand in-charge Kumari Selja wrote to him on 1 October, asking him to stall the yatra.
Party sources said Rawat had also been asked not to continue with his programmes when he was in Delhi for the Congress Working Committee meeting on 30 September. Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal conveyed the leadership’s concerns to Rawat during the meeting, they added.
In her letter, Selja said the yatra had neither been discussed with her nor with Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal. She also referred to “certain controversial statements” made by Rawat and stressed that the party needed to put up a united front ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.
“It has come to our notice that you are undertaking a Yatra in the State. This has neither been discussed with the undersigned nor with the PCC President. 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 wrote, sending a copy of the letter to Venugopal, which has since been doing the rounds online.
Rawat has still gone ahead with the programme.
The ex-CM’s camp has described the yatra as an effort to thank people and reconnect with voters ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. But the programme also comes at a time when Rawat’s influence within the Uttarakhand Congress has been under discussion, as has his apparent attempt to retain political space for his family.
Rawat announced the 5 October yatra on 3 October, and continued to publicise it even after Selja’s letter.
“Friends, the challenge is huge. But for the pride of Uttarakhand, our resolve is firm. There is no stopping now. We have to bring change and bring Congress back in power,” Rawat said ahead of Monday’s programme.
Asked about Selja’s letter at the programme, Rawat did not respond. A video of the interaction was also posted on his Facebook page.
Rawat has also linked the yatra to his fight against the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI.
“Thousands of people left their work and travelled to Delhi and Gurugram to meet me. I accepted the challenge, the provocation—whatever you may call it—from the ED and the BJP, and at the same time, I began this Dhanyawad Jan Samvad to express my gratitude towards this land,” Rawat said.
He added: “Even today, people are participating in it with great enthusiasm. I am deeply grateful to everyone. Your participation has shown me that whether it is the ED or the CBI, I am not alone in taking them on.”
Later Monday, Uttarakhand in-charge Selja issued a statement: “Harish Rawat wants to give his clarification. We will talk to him on 7 or 8 October. We want to hear his side first. He has also met organisation general secretary Venugopalji. After hearing his clarification, we will think about the next steps.”
‘Creating political space for his children’
Party leaders ThePrint spoke to have said that Rawat is seeking to create political space for his children, with some alleging that he wants assembly seats for them. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Rawat had pushed for a ticket for his son Virendra Rawat from Haridwar. Virendra lost the election.
Rawat’s electoral record has also become a point of discussion within the party. The 79-year-old leader has not won an assembly or Lok Sabha election in the past nine years. In 2017, after serving as chief minister, Rawat contested from two assembly seats—Haridwar Rural and Kichha—and lost both. He then lost the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar and the 2022 assembly election from Lalkuan. His daughter, Anupama Rawat, won the Haridwar Rural seat in the 2022 assembly election.
Rawat became chief minister in 2014 after Vijay Bahuguna resigned following criticism over the handling of rehabilitation of the 2013 flood victims. He later faced a rebellion within his government but managed to survive it. The Congress, however, lost power in the 2017 assembly elections.
Despite those electoral setbacks, Rawat remains one of the Congress’s most prominent leaders in Uttarakhand and continues to command a substantial following within the state.
His apparent differences with the high command also come amid continuing discontent in sections of the Uttarakhand Congress over the party’s leadership structure. Leaders such as Ganesh Godiyal, Harak Singh Rawat and Yashpal Arya have built influence within the organisation, while senior leaders including Pritam Singh, Karan Mahara and Tilak Raj Behad have not always been comfortable with the current arrangement.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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