Harish Rawat, the Punjab Congress in-charge, met senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Saturday under pressure from two states. While Rawat is already preoccupied with resolving infighting in Punjab, the forthcoming elections in his home state of Uttarakhand present a new problem.
“I’ll surely schedule some time off. Rawat stated, “I’ll take up whatever responsibilities the party High Command assigns me.” On Friday, the Punjab Congress in-charge met with Sonia Gandhi and asked to be freed of his duties, citing the upcoming assembly elections in Uttarakhand.
According to sources, Rawat, a former chief minister and chairman of the Congress’ Uttarakhand campaign committee, informed the party’s national chairman that he wants to focus on the impending elections in the hill state.
Punjab and Uttarakhand will hold simultaneous assembly elections early next year. When reporters asked if he had requested to be released of his duties as in-charge of the Congress’ Punjab affairs so that he may focus on the approaching elections in his state, the former Uttarakhand chief minister said yes.
“If my party asks me to stay (as Punjab affairs in-charge), I will do so,” he added. While the Congress seeks to keep power in Punjab, it hopes to reclaim power in the hill state by ousting the ruling BJP. Amarinder Singh, the President Minister of Punjab, and Navjot Singh Sidhu, the state Congress chief, are feuding.
Rawat, who is now in Delhi meeting with the party’s senior leadership, has stated that the Punjab Assembly elections will be fought under Amarinder Singh’s leadership, a snub to those calling for the chief minister’s resignation. He also stated that the Amarinder Singh-led government in Punjab was not in danger.
