A day after former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat complained of lack of support from the Congress leadership ahead of the Assembly elections next year, the party’s state unit chief on Thursday said that he shared the same feelings, PTI reported.
On Wednesday, Rawat had accused the Congress’ central leadership of leaving him alone to deal with certain matters related to Uttarakhand. In a series of tweets, the former chief minister also said that he was in a dilemma about whether it was time for him “to take rest”.
In one of his tweets, Rawat asked: “Isn’t it strange that the organisational structure at most places, instead of extending a helping hand, is standing with its head turned away or playing a negative role at a time when I have to swim across the ocean of elections.”
On Thursday, Congress state unit chief Ganesh Godiyal endorsed Rawat’s views, saying that he had been feeling the same way for “quite some time”, PTI reported.
“But my style is to give the person in question enough time to correct himself,” Godiyal said, according to the news agency. “The organisation is aware of this and the process to address issues raised by us has also been underway. However, if they were addressed earlier there would not have been a tweet like this.”
However, Godiyal added that the state leadership would find a solution after meeting Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal and the party’s MP Rahul Gandhi.
Godiyal, Rawat, and two other Uttarakhand Congress leaders Pritam Singh and Yashpal Arya are scheduled to meet the party’s central leadership in Delhi on Friday, according to ANI.
The meeting will take place amid reports of factionalism withing the Congress ahead of the polls.
Rawat’s tweets on Wednesday were reportedly aimed at the party’s Uttarakhand in-charge Devendra Yadav, according to The Print. In the lead up to the state elections scheduled early next year, Yadav has been saying that the Congress would contest under a collective leadership, while Rawat has been pushing the party to declare him as the chief ministerial candidate, PTI reported.
On Thursday, Godiyal denied that there were rifts in the party, but threw his weight behind Rawat.
He described Rawat as the “tallest Congress leader” and said that the party cannot afford to displease him, PTI reported. “A leader like him who commands the love of people and is acceptable to all is not to be found in any party in Uttarakhand,” Godiyal added.
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