PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
After a long break taken due to his poor health, former chief minister and Congress heavyweight Harish Rawat is returning back to Uttarakhand and active politics of the State on September 20. His return to Uttarakhand after more than three months assumes significance for the Congress party which has been out of power in Uttarakhand since 2017 and is pitched in a crucial battle with Bharatiya Janata Party for the Vidhan Sabha elections of 2027.
As per the programme shared by his office, Rawat will offer floral tributes to the Statehood activists at Rampur Tiraha before entering Uttarakhand at Narsan border. Later in the day he will offer prayers at river Ganga in Haridwar and Mani Mai temple, Lacchiwala. In the evening, he will pay his respect to the martyrs in Dehradun collectorate. On September 21, the former CM will pay obeisance at the four Siddhs ( Kalu Siddh, Laxman Siddh, Manak Siddh and Mandu Siddh) in Dehradun. Ahead of the release of his tour programme, Rawat shared an emotional video on social media in which he is seen carrying a picture of his late mother. In the video, Rawat vows that he has not taken even a single rupee as bribe in his life. His video assumes significance in the wake of recent raid of Enforcement Directorate (ED) on one his close aides, Chandan Singh Jeena in connection with the VPDO recruitment examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UkSSC) in 2016.
On his way to Haridwar and Dehradun, the Congress party workers will welcome Rawat at many places. The return of Rawat to the State and the welcome programmes organised by his supporters clearly point out that the veteran politician is showing his political might to his political adversaries both inside the Congress party and outside it.
The political observer Jay Singh Rawat said that the return of Rawat to the State after a long break with such fanfare clearly shows that he wants to give a message that despite his age he is still a potent political force. He said that Rawat has a very good following with supporters in almost every village of the State. With crucial Vidhan Sabha elections less than five months away, the Congress leadership is not in a position to ignore a seasoned politician such as Harish Rawat, he said.
