The absence of leaders of Uttarakhand Congress from the heat of election campaign of Delhi assembly has led the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to take jibe on the faction ridden party. On Monday while talking to the media persons, CM Rawat after returning from his whirlwind tour of Delhi, said that the Congress leaders are engrossed in fighting with each other due to which they are not finding time to campaign in Delhi election.
The CM claimed that the people of Delhi have decided to support BJP in the upcoming assembly elections. He said that Arvind Kejriwal rode piggyback to the movement of Anna Hazare to come to power in Delhi and all the leaders of the Anna movement who supported Kejriwal have left him.
Terming the anti Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest at Shaheen Bagh as the conspiracy of Arvind Kejriwal, Rawat said that the people of Delhi have decided to support BJP. Answering the jibe of CM Rawat, the vice president of the Uttarakhand Congress, Surya Kant Dhasmana said that many Congress leaders and members are camping in Delhi. On the absence of senior leaders of the party from the campaign in Delhi, Dhasmana claimed that the party would release the list of campaigners soon.
Notwithstanding the explanation given by Dhasmana and other Congress leaders, the fact is that the Congress leaders from Uttarakhand have so far remained away from the campaign in Delhi. Former CM Harish Rawat is the only leader from the state who has campaigned in Delhi. Harish Rawat incidentally is the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and is among the star campaigners of the Congress party in Delhi. With only three days left for campaigning for the polls slated to be held on February 8, the state unit’s claim of sending senior leaders to Delhi looks out of the place.
On the other hand, almost all senior leaders of BJP including, CM Rawat and members of his council of ministers are camping in Delhi for the campaign. It is pertinent to mention here that there are about 26 lakh voters of Uttarakhand origin in Delhi and they constitute a significant vote bank. It is estimated that these voters decide the outcome in all least 16 assembly segments in the 70 member Delhi assembly.