Dehradun: Congress has released the first list of candidates for the upcoming Uttarakhand Assembly election. Names of 53 candidates have been released in the first list. The names of president of Congress Election Steering Committee and former chief minister Harish Rawat and Harak Singh Rawat, who joined the party only on Friday, did not figure in the first candidate list. However, Harish Rawat has spoken openly about the current situation in Congress.
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Using a cricket reference, Harish Rawat said: "People are turning back to the Congress, we were out of form. Every batsman has a point in history, where his form is a little down. Congress' form is a little down in national politics, but we are not out yet. We will return to our A-game. In Uttarakhand, we are in full form with our best batsman team."
Asked whether Congress is giving space for the regional parties, Rawat said that regional parties have not been very successful anywhere except Tamil Nadu in South India. "In the north, its been successful only in Odisha and West Bengal. These regional parties succeeded only because they chose the path of Congress."
Questioned about taking back Harak Singh Rawat, who has been expelled from BJP, former Uttarakhand CM said that Congress always looks forward but that the decision of high command is supreme.
"It is a good thing that he (Harak Singh Rawat) is now a part of Congress. Decisions in the party are taken on the basis of many considerations. Decisions are always taken in the party keeping in view the future. The decision of the party is supreme," he added.
Harak Singh Rawat had toppled the Harish Rawat government in 2016 by rebelling with 10 MLAs. After that he joined BJP.
