Dehradun: Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat, in the news as the Congress’ Punjab in-charge, has got political circles in his poll-bound home state abuzz after hinting at pulling out of the chief ministerial race.
Having publicly declared his reluctance to contest the assembly election early next year, the Thakur leader, speaking at a ‘Parivartan Yatra’ rally Monday, said he would like to see a Dalit chief minister in Uttarakhand. Dalits constitute about 18 per cent of the state’s population.
His remarks have come as a surprise as he is the tallest Congress leader in the state and was seen as a front-runner for the CM’s post in the event of the party returning to power in the hill state in 2022. Rawat will turn 74 next April, around the time that a new CM will be in place after elections in Uttarakhand.
The ruling BJP had trounced the Congress in 2017, winning 57 seats in the 70-member assembly. In terms of vote-share, the BJP got a lead of 13 percentage points over the Congress, which went up to 30 in 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The BJP government is, however, facing strong anti-incumbency, with not much to show on the development front and battling Covid-19 mismanagement charges. The party changed two chief ministers in a span of four months this year.
Also read: Congress wants to dislodge BJP from Uttarakhand in 2022, but infighting could play spoiler
Rawat raises eyebrows in home state
After returning from Punjab — where he, in his capacity as AICC in-charge, was instrumental in the replacement of Captain Amarinder Singh with a Dalit Sikh as the CM — Rawat expressed similar sentiments at a rally in Hardwar Monday.
“A new history has been created in Punjab. Son of a Dalit mother who earned her living making cow dung cakes was made chief minister by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and state legislators. I pray to the almighty and mother Ganga, that a time must come in my life that I should see a Dalit chief minister in Uttarakhand too. We will work for it,” he said.
“It’s less important what the size of Dalits voters are today. More important is how long they have helped the Congress remain in power.
“We will repay them if the opportunity comes. I want to assure them that Congress will move fulfil their expectations,” added Rawat, who is the head of the state Congress’ election campaign committee.
This, however, isn’t the first time in recent days that he has raised eyebrows.
He created a stir last week, when before leaving for Delhi, the former CM said he wasn’t keen on contesting the 2022 assembly elections as that would lead to circumstances such as those in 2017, when there were charges that rivals within the party scuttled his chances at both constituencies he had been fielded.
“Like Abhimanyu in Mahabharat, I may be caught in a web of conspiracies. I will contest only if the party high command wants me to do so,” Rawat said. “I don’t want any controversy in the party because of me. I did not contest even in 2002, 2007 and 2012. This time I want to work similar to 2002.”
In 2014, when he replaced Vijay Bahuguna as the CM, Rawat was an MP. One of his close aides vacated an assembly seat for him to win in the bypolls. Rawat, who has won Lok Sabha elections four times, is a mass leader, with a pan-state appeal.
Many Congress leaders in the state are, however, unwilling to take his remarks on face value. They say that while the Congress high command may be inclined to project a younger face in Uttarakhand, Rawat remains the best bet under the circumstances. Besides, they say, the former CM is not known to open his cards so easily and, therefore, it’s premature to conclude that Rawat is out of the chief ministerial race.
A section of the Uttarakhand Congress leaders also agree with Rawat’s conspiracy theory suggestions about rivals in the party sabotaging his election.
Unwilling to speak on record, these leaders told ThePrint that one of key reasons for his defeat in both assembly segments he contested in 2017 elections was due to opponents within the party. Rawat fought from Haridwar Rural and Kichha assembly segments in 2017. He missed out at Kichha by less than 100 votes, but lost at Haridwar Rural by over 9,000 votes.
“Rawat has enough enemies in the party. They see him as a big threat for their political career and the main cause behind their suffering. They can go to any extent to defeat him this time,” said a senior PCC vice-president, on the condition of anonymity.
PCC general secretary Prithvipal Chauhan, however, claimed that the former CM is vital to the election campaign.
“Harish Rawat must have his own reservations if he has said something. It’s, however, true that he can be more useful for the party without exhausting himself in one constituency,” Chauhan said.
“We were not even in reckoning in the 2002 assembly elections but Harish Rawat as PCC chief was instrumental in strengthening the party, leading to a big win. He did it without being a contestant.”
AAP’s growth behind Rawat’s Dalit politics?
Rawat’s sudden focus on Dalits in Uttarakhand is also being seen in the backdrop of the Aam Aadmi Party’s growing influence in the state, especially in the plains of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar.
Dalits and Muslims account for nearly 50 per cent of the population in the two districts, directly impacting around 22 seats in the 70-member state assembly.
Even Congressmen agree that the party needs to take innovative steps if it wants to ensure a comeback in 2022.
“Arvind Kejriwal’s promises like 300 units of free power, Rs 5,000 unemployment allowance and one lakh jobs every six months will attract mainly these voters who were largely with the Congress as the BSP started losing its hold after 2012 elections,” said senior PCC spokesperson Mathura Dutt Joshi.
“Today, these promises may appear non-credible but must be countered strongly. Harish Rawat’s Dalit CM is a masterstroke to scuttling the AAP’s efforts.”
Congress leaders also claim that Rawat’s Dalit CM statement will on the one hand, silence detractors in the state, while on the other, push the BJP on the defensive as the party has been looking to woo Dalit, tribal and OBC voters.
The BJP, which has already announced Pushkar Dhami as its CM face, dismissed the suggestions.
“Harish Rawat’s Dalit CM statement is self contradictory. They don’t practice what they say. None other than Rawat himself said in Punjab that their newly-appointed Dalit CM will not be the face for the upcoming assembly elections,” state BJP spokesperson Manbir Chauhan said.
“It’s nothing but a ploy to attract voters and counter AAP, which may eat into Congress votes in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The Congress party will forget Dalits right after the elections.”
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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