Why Harish Rawat defiance of AICC deals a blow to Uttarakhand Congress on poll eve | Political Pulse News
Congress veteran and ex-Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat’s decision to continue with his “Dhanyawad evam Jansamvad Yatra” despite a directive from the party high command to call it off has deepened rifts within the state party unit, with the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leadership warning that his independent outreach could undermine efforts to present a united front ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Rawat on Monday pressed ahead with the Jaspur-Haldwani leg of the yatra, days after AICC general secretary and Uttarakhand in-charge Kumari Selja wrote to him on October 1, asking him not to proceed with the programme. The confrontation has brought into sharper focus differences within the state Congress over Rawat’s political role and his efforts to remain at the centre of the party’s activities in Uttarakhand.
In her letter to Rawat, Selja said the party had learnt that he was undertaking the yatra without discussing it with either the state Congress president Ganesh Godiyal or the Uttarakhand in-charge. She also referred to what she called his “controversial statements” during his recent programmes.
“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. You may therefore not go ahead with these programmes,” the letter read.
Rawat, however, made clear that he had no intention of backing down. Hours before beginning Monday’s leg of the yatra, he posted on social media: “There is no stopping now,” while calling on his supporters to work to “bring the Congress back” to power in Uttarakhand and said the resolve was firm “for the pride of Uttarakhand”.
Uttarakhand is due for the Assembly elections in February 2027.
On Monday, Rawat’s yatra began at 11.30 am at Heera Garden in Jaspur in Udham Singh Nagar district en route to Haldwani. Rawat has described the exercise as a public dialogue and thanksgiving campaign, rather than a parallel political programme.
A senior Uttarakhand Congress office-bearer close to Rawat said the former CM was continuing with the yatra to “strengthen the party ahead of the elections”. “The yatra is continuing because Rawat ji wants to bring the Congress back to power in the state. Whatever he is doing is in the interest of the Congress and Uttarakhand. Local Congress workers are participating in the yatra, and he is getting an overwhelming response from the public,” the leader said.
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The Congress leadership, however, remains concerned about the political message of Rawat’s independent programme.
An AICC leader said the party was already running programmes in the state ahead of the polls and that a separate initiative by Rawat risked reinforcing the perception that it was divided.
“When there are other party programmes being run ahead of the polls, any such parallel programme by Rawat sends a message to the public that the Congress is a divided house in Uttarakhand. That is not in the interest of the party,” the AICC leader said.
The leader added that since Rawat had announced Monday’s programmes much earlier, the party was “keeping a watch” on his upcoming programmes and that the matter would be conveyed to the high command.
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The latest disagreement comes at a difficult time for Rawat within the Congress. Last month, he appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its money-laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the 2016 Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari recruitment examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission.
The ED’s probe followed searches at multiple locations, including the premises of Chandan Singh Jeena, Rawat’s former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) and his current personal assistant. The agency has said it seized or froze assets worth around Rs 1.28 crore, including Rs 32 lakh in cash, around 200 grams of gold and 12 luxury watches.
Rawat returned to Uttarakhand last month after spending a prolonged period in Delhi for medical reasons and subsequently led a roadshow in Dehradun. During his yatra in Haridwar last week, a vehicle in his cavalcade carried his photograph alongside the slogan: “Tiger is back.”
“He is the tallest leader of the Congress in the state. Through such programmes, he is keeping himself in the leading position among the contenders for the CM face,” said another party leader.
