Ahead of the Assembly election, Chief Minister Harish Rawat has embarked on a Puhana to Bhagwanpur padayatra called as “Mukhyamantri Apke Dwar” in Roorkee on Monday, ostensibly to further strengthen the ruling party’s grip over the electorally important rural areas of the Haridwar district.
Observers say that the Chief Minister is pulling out all the stops to endear himself to the electorate of the region which had overwhelmingly voted for the BJP candidate during the 2014 lok Sabha election. Eyes trained on the electorally crucial Haridwar district, Rawat has been camping in the rural areas under Bahadrabad and Khanpur blocks for the past few days while addressing gatherings of different sections of the people, including the Dalits.
Making it clear that he would latch on to the rural populace during the Padayatra, Harish Rawat said he would be reaching out to the rural people across the district, sharing their problems and offering solutions. He is also rolling out myriad announcements of developmental schemes to tether them to the Congress hook.
The State watchers say the Padyatra is meant as damage control exercise to make up the loss caused by the desertion of Subodh Rakesh, the brother of the deceased Cabinet Minister Surendra Rakesh, and his switch to BJP.
While joining the saffron camp along with a large number of his supporters, Rakesh alleged the development works initiated by his late brother had remained stuck since his death. Things for the prestigious Bhagwanpur seat turning interesting with the possibility of Mamta Rakesh, the widow of Surendra Rakesh and the present MlA from the Congress and her brother-in-law representing the BJP being locked in a straight contest, the CM must take pains to win over the disgruntled Dalit now rallying behind Subodh to his side.
He is invoking the legacy of Surendra Raksh, saying that he would do everything to carry things forward from whether they were left by the untimely demise of the cabinet minister.
Earlier in the day, Harish Rawat addressed a congregation of the farmers at Puhana village in Roorkee. He said his Government held the interests of the farmers as paramount and would never allow it to deviate from the course. He also announced a new bus stand in Bhagwanpur which would be operational soon.