Usually in politics, a leader with a substantial mass base is considered an asset for a party. But in poll-bound Uttarakhand, it is just the opposite, at least in the case of Thakur leader Harak Singh Rawat. More than 60 hours after being sacked as a cabinet minister in the Pushkar Singh Dhami government, he is desperately knocking at the doors of the Congress in the national capital.
News came on Monday that Harak will join the Congress. Then came Tuesday and Wednesday, but it seems there is a long wait ahead for the sexagenarian leader.
“Not once, I am ready to apologise one lakh times to my elder brother (Harish Rawat),” a visibly impatient Harak Singh told News18 when asked about the chairman of the Congress campaign committee seeking his apology for dislodging the Congress government in 2016.
Why Harak is not welcome
In 2016, Harak Singh, then a minister in the Harish Rawat government, was instrumental in engineering defection from the Congress by breaking away nine MLAs who crossed over to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Former chief minister Harish Rawat has said time and again that he is against the entry of those (read Harak Singh) who “strangulated democracy”.
In sync with Harish Rawat, a section in Uttarakhand Congress has written to the party leadership. Manoj Rawat, MLA from Kedarnath, wrote that inducting Harak Singh into Congress would mean an insult to the dedicated party workers who stood steadfast in difficult times. Party leader SP Singh threatened self-immolation if the Thakur leader is allowed in. Moreover, in Dehradun, central election observer Mohan Prakash was approached by several party functionaries with complaints against the sacked BJP minister.
Party insiders say, however, Pritam Singh, the leader of the opposition, and Ganesh Godiyal, the state party president, have softened their stand.
“He (Harak Singh) is my younger brother. I have nothing to do with his entry. It is for the party leadership to decide,” Harish Rawat said, suggesting he has not changed his mind.
The problem child
In an interview sometime back, Harak Singh had told this correspondent that he rebelled from the Congress to become the chief minister. An overambitious Harak Singh on several occasions clashed with the BJP leadership but the saffron camp adjusted with him.
The surprise came last Sunday when Harak Singh, seeking a ticket for himself and his daughter-in-law and former model Anukriti Gusain, headed to Delhi in an apparent move to pressurise the BJP. Chief minister Dhami and party state president Madan Kaushik then decided to get rid of Harak and sacked him.
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Congress leaders say despite Harak Singh having a vote base in certain pockets of the Garhwal region, his past actions and lack of credibility are a stumbling block. Particularly, Harish Rawat supporters say Harak Singh cannot be trusted anymore and they fear if given a chance he could again raise the flag of revolt.
“Harak Singh is not a team player. He himself wants to become the chief minister. The Congress is battling with factionalism and Harak will make things more complex for us all,” said a senior leader.
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