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Dehradun, Jan 21: Former Uttarakhand Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat joined the Congress on Friday, just days ahead of state polls.
“When Congress wins with full majority on Mar 10, that’ll be my apology (on saying there are no apologies in politics). BJP thought of me as a ‘use & throw’; I was very upset. I didn’t break my friendship with HM Amit Shah till the last moment, as I had promised,” Harak Rawat said after joining the Congress.
He was expelled by the BJP recently after he allegedly put pressure on the party leadership to give ticket to his kin for next month’s Assembly polls, a charge denied by the leader.
Rawat, who represents the Kotdwar seat in the state assembly, is said to have been seeking a ticket for his daughter-in-law Anukriti Gusain from the Lansdowne constituency and a change of seat for himself.
For some time now, there have been reports of Rawat being unhappy with the BJP leadership.
With the BJP disagreeing with him on the issue, he is understood to have been exploring possibilities of rejoining the Congress, which he had quit in 2016 after rebelling against the then CM Harish Rawat.
Rawat was also ousted from the state Cabinet following his expulsion. He was the forest and labour minister in the Pushkar Singh Dhami government.
Harak Singh Rawat had rebelled against the Congress government led by Harish Rawat in 2016 and had joined the BJP. He was instrumental in reducing the Harish Rawat-led Congress government to a minority in 2016.
Elections in Uttarakhand will be held in single phase on February 14.
For Quick Alerts Subscribe Now For Quick Alerts ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS | Updated: Friday, January 21, 2022, 16:54 [IST] Dehradun, Jan 21: Former Uttarakhand Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat joined the Congress on Friday, just days ahead of state polls. “When Congress wins with full majority on Mar 10, that’ll be my apology (on saying there are no apologies in politics). BJP thought of me as a ‘use & throw’; I was very upset. I didn’t break my friendship with HM Amit Shah till the last moment, as I had promised,” Harak Rawat said after joining the Congress. He was expelled by the BJP recently after he allegedly put pressure on the party leadership to give ticket to his kin for next month’s Assembly polls, a charge denied by the leader. Rawat, who represents the Kotdwar seat in the state assembly, is said to have been seeking a ticket for his daughter-in-law Anukriti Gusain from the Lansdowne constituency and a change of seat for himself. For some time now, there have been reports of Rawat being unhappy with the BJP leadership. With the BJP disagreeing with him on the issue, he is understood to have been exploring possibilities of rejoining the Congress, which he had quit in 2016 after rebelling against the then CM Harish Rawat. Rawat was also ousted from the state Cabinet following his expulsion. He was the forest and labour minister in the Pushkar Singh Dhami government. Harak Singh Rawat had rebelled against the Congress government led by Harish Rawat in 2016 and had joined the BJP. He was instrumental in reducing the Harish Rawat-led Congress government to a minority in 2016. Elections in Uttarakhand will be held in single phase on February 14.