As the head of the campaign committee of Congress party in Uttarakhand former chief minister Harish Rawat carried the weight of the aspirations of the grand old party on his aging yet strong shoulders in the state. During the campaign he was targetted by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and with his ideas and utterances he was at the centre of the electioneering in the Himalayan state. Even after the end of voting the Congress stalwart has not relaxed and is constantly travelling and meeting people. On Sunday Rawat interacted with Gajendra Singh Negi of The Pioneer in the middle of his hectic schedule and expressed his opinion on many issues.
What is your assessment of the public mood in the Assembly election and chances of your party?
The general trend which is clearly perceptible is that the Congress is coming to power in Uttarakhand. The general public is also of the same opinion and people have started submitting their memorandums to us. In my view the Congress is winning more than 48 seats.
What is the basis of this assessment of yours?
It is based on three factors. The first is that there were 23 such seats in the election of 2017 where we either won or lost by a very thin margin. Secondly there was 13 per cent of vote swing towards BJP in the last election when the BJP was successful in giving a Hindutva colour to anti incumbency factor. This time at least eight per cent of this vote would come back to the Congress party’s fold which gives a decisive edge of two per cent to us over BJP. My third basis is that while Congress was united the BJP was a divided house in this election.
An assumption is gaining ground that though Congress will win the election, the BJP would form the government in Uttarakhand. Madhya Pradesh is an example. Is Congress ready to face this challenge?
Yes we are alert on this aspect also and the people of the state too are alert. I believe that the mischief-making power of BJP will diminish when we get 48 seats. Furthermore those who had gone to the BJP’s fold earlier had a very bad experience.
What message will the victory of the Congress in Uttarakhand give to the rest of the country?
The victory would boost the morale of the party and the Congress would be on a comeback trail in the country. Even today I am receiving calls from Punjab that the probability of Congress coming to power in Uttarakhand has given a boost to the party’s chances in Punjab.
The Congress party has made many promises in its manifesto. How will they get fulfilled?
Our government will fulfil all the promises it made in the manifesto. We will try to ensure that some of the major promises such as power and subsidy on cooking gas are fulfilled immediately after the government is sworn in. Simultaneously we will focus on resource mobilisation to strengthen the economy of the state.
You have said that Gairsain would be made the capital of Uttarakhand. In how many days will this assurance be fulfilled?
We are serious on Gairsain and would start a time bound programme for infrastructure development of Gairsain. We will also focus on resource mobilisation specifically for the development of Gairsain.
In the last phase of election campaign BJP raised the Muslim University and uniform civil code issues. Did it influence the voters?
The Muslim university was a white lie conjured up by the BJP. No one demanded it and no promises were made. The BJP tried its best to polarise the electorate but the people of the state understood the motive of the party and its plan failed.
The top leadership of Congress at the national level is being questioned by some party leaders. There seems to be an illusion among young leaders and some of them have left the party. What is the problem and its solution?
The leaders who have left were made by the Congress. They have surrendered before the power but it is a fact that it is the brave who make the history and not cowards.
Your statement ‘I will either become CM or sit at home’ has caught everyone’s attention. What should one infer from it?
I said this on three occasions just before the voting. By this I wanted to assure the people that I am there to fulfil all the promises made by the party.
You are the tallest leader of the Congress in Uttarakhand and in all the pre poll surveys you were the number one choice for CM. What if the central leadership appoints someone else as the CM?
I will abide by whatever decision our leader Sonia Gandhi will take.
Though you campaigned for the party candidates in many constituencies you were missed by many candidates in the last phase of campaigning. What is the reason for this?
I had undertaken 20-22 foot marches and addressed more than 42 public meetings in different parts of the state. In fact we had taken a lead over BJP in campaigning. Yes, in the last phase I concentrated more on Lalkuan. I had told the party that I should only campaign and not contest the election but the general consensus was that I should contest the election.
Am I speaking with the next CM of Uttarakhand?
You will have to wait till March 10.
