By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Haldwani, 27 Oct: Former Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Harish Rawat today indicated his desire to contest the 2027 Uttarakhand Assembly elections from the Khanpur Assembly constituency in Haridwar district. Interacting informally with the media persons here today, he however made it clear that the final decision on his candidature would rest with the party leadership.
Speaking during his visit to Haldwani, Rawat said he would like to contest from Khanpur as people from the constituency had been urging him to enter the electoral fray from there. He said this is the reason he has developed an inclination towards contesting from the seat. However, he emphasised that the ultimate decision would be taken by the party and that he would contest from whichever constituency the Congress leadership asked him to.
Rawat also responded to questions regarding the possibility of members of his family being given party tickets. He said his family members have been working among the people for the past 20 to 25 years and have remained actively engaged in public life. Referring to allegations of dynastic politics, he said those linking the political activities of his family members to parivarvaad should also recognise that they had spent many years working at the grassroots level and maintaining direct contact with the public.
The former CM further asserted that his primary objective is to defeat the BJP and that he would support whichever candidate was best placed to achieve that goal. He reiterated that strengthening the party and ensuring a strong challenge to the ruling party remains his priority.
Rawat’s remarks have triggered fresh political discussions in Uttarakhand well ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. His public expression of interest in contesting from Khanpur has fuelled speculation over the Congress party’s electoral strategy and the role it may assign to one of its most experienced leaders in the next Assembly polls. It may be reminded here that the current MLA from Khanpur is Umesh Kumar who had won the constituency as an independent candidate defeating Kunwarani Devyani Singh of BJP. Kumar is also considered to be a strong rival of Rawat and had played a key role in fall of his government when an alleged sting operation involving Harish Rawat had gone viral in 2016, and became a factor behind the fall of his government. Political observers also claim that Kumar had recently lobbied hard to join the Congress but Harish Rawat did not let it happen.
While Rawat has made his preference known, he underlined that the final call on his candidature would be taken by the party leadership. His statement has also reignited debate over which constituency he may eventually contest and how the Congress plans to utilise his political experience in the run-up to the 2027 elections. For now, his indication that he would like to contest from Khanpur has added a new dimension to the state’s political discourse, with the party leadership’s decision expected to be the determining factor in the matter.
