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BJP leaders sending feelers, says Harish Rawat ahead of 2022 Uttarakhand assembly polls
Earlier before senior Congress leader Harish Rawat’s statement, the party leadership including state president Ganesh Godiyal had also hinted at something similar.
With the assembly polls to be held next year approaching, mind games have begun in Uttarakhand’s political space with senior Congress leader Harish Rawat claiming that some BJP leaders were in touch with his party.
Party national general secretary and former Uttarakhand chief minister Rawat, who is the president of the election campaign committee for the 2022 polls, made the statement in a Facebook post as well as in an interview with a Hindi daily.
Rawat in his latest remark had said that the party’s doors are open for “anyone willing to join it but after proper analysis”.
“There are some leaders in the ruling BJP who are unhappy with the leadership and think they are not getting what they deserve there. Many of them are in touch with us which we won’t deny. Our doors are open for them except some who think they are too smart,” said Rawat without naming any BJP leader.
Earlier before Rawat’s statement, the party leadership including state president Ganesh Godiyal had also hinted at something similar.
Reacting to the statement by Rawat to whom he is reportedly close, Godiyal said, “He is a very senior and experienced leader of our party. If he is saying something, then there must be some reason behind it.”
“About a month ago, when the BJP appointed Pushkar Singh Dhami as the new chief minister, the discontent among some of the leaders in BJP had come out in the open when senior leaders and cabinet ministers Satpal Maharaj and Harak Singh Rawat were clearly unhappy with the decision. There were even reports that a day after Dhami’s appointment, Maharaj and Rawat held a meeting following which other senior leaders had to pacify them. That fire hasn’t been doused yet,” said Godiyal.
He, however added, “If anyone is willing to join the Congress from BJP, then the decision will be taken by the party leadership after proper analysis.
Maharaj and Rawat had defected to the BJP from Congress in 2016 along with Subodh Uniyal, Rekha Arya and Yashpal Arya. All of them are cabinet ministers in the present BJP government.
The state BJP leadership, however, refuted the claims of the Congress calling it a “bluff”.
“It is just ridiculous that Congress which is in an existential crisis is claiming that our leaders are in touch with them. It has been already rejected by the people and is now a sinking ship. Which leader will like to jump in? All our leaders are united and determined to win the 2022 polls with a thumping majority by crossing the tally of 60 out of 70 seats,” said Vipin Kainthola, BJP state spokesperson.
On the latest development, political analyst MM Semwal said that it is “more of a mind game ahead of the next elections”.
“It is well known that Congress defectors including Satpal Maharaj and Harak Singh Rawat are not free in BJP as they were in Congress. But I don’t think they would be in touch with Harish Rawat. Apart from them, no other defector seems to be that unhappy in BJP,” Semwal said.
