Son’s seat at stake, Harish Rawat camps in Haridwar; Uttarakhand Congress waits in vain

As the most prominent face of the Congress in Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat is being sought after to canvass for party candidates in the state’s four Lok Sabha constituencies in the hills. But so far this poll season, the former chief minister has confined his travels to within Haridwar, the only Lok Sabha constituency that is in the plains.

For apparently only one reason: his son Virendra (48) is the Congress candidate from the seat, facing a formidable opponent in former BJP CM Trivendra Singh Rawat.

Leaving no stone unturned, Harish Rawat is leading roadshows, door-to-door campaigns and street-corner meetings, all the while riding a bike in a convoy of two-wheelers. Virendra can be mostly seen nodding obediently besides Rawat as the former CM holds yet another public meeting.
Party leaders who expected Rawat to spread his efforts across the state, as the party’s seniormost Uttarakhand leader, are barely hiding their discontent.

Pointing out that Rawat had campaigned across the state in the 2022 Assembly polls, which the Congress could not manage to win, a senior state Congress leader said, “Some party leaders upset over Rawat’s actions have quit in recent days. One of them joined the BJP earlier this week. As our former CM, Harishji is our face in the state.”

Responding to the criticism, Uttarakhand Congress vice-president Surendra Agarwal said Thursday, “Harishji is camping in Haridwar because this election is tough, as the fight is against (Narendra) Modi… There is demand for him to campaign in other constituencies. He will travel there too, as well as to Uttar Pradesh.”

But till Thursday, with voting still 12 days away, Rawat had not announced any plans to travel to other parts of Uttarakhand, even as he had personally