Harish Rawat says will not comment on who BJP will pick as Uttarakhand CM. Here's why
The senior Congress leader said he cannot opine on the issue because 'I cannot control the mayhem in my own house.’
Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Thursday refused to comment on who the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will pick as the next chief minister of the hill state, saying that he cannot speak on the issue as he is unable to control the ‘mayhem’ in his own party, the Congress.
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“I’ve taken the responsibility for the defeat. If I can’t control the mayhem in my own house, then I don’t have the right to comment on the BJP’s CM face. We raised the issues of poverty, jobs, Covid. However, the BJP coined a term ‘Muslim university’ and blamed me for the polarisation,” Rawat said, according to news agency ANI.
The veteran politician is facing severe flak from his own party over its defeat in the recently-held assembly elections in Uttarakhand; it suffered a rout despite anti-incumbency against the ruling BJP. Rawat himself lost to the BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht from the Lalkuan assembly constituency. However, his daughter, Anupama Rawat, won from Haridwar Rural against the ruling party’s Yatishwaranand.
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In the wake of the defeat, Harish Rawat was also accused by fellow Uttarakhand Congress leader Ranjeet Rawat of taking money for ticket distribution, prompting the former to ask the Sonia Gandhi-led party to expel him if the allegations were true.
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Also, in the run-up to the polls, the 73-year-old leader was flayed by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, over what it said was the grand old party’s plan to construct a ‘Muslim university’ in the state, and thus, a proof of the latter’s ‘appeasement politics.’
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The Bharatiya Janata Party retained its government in Uttarakhand with a tally of 57 seats in the 70-member assembly. The polling took place on February 14, while the counting of votes was held on March 10. Pushkar Singh Dhami, the incumbent CM, lost from Khatima. However, the BJP is expected to continue with Dhami as the chief minister.