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Soni Mishra
Soni Mishra

INTERVIEW

Prashant Kishor is like chyawanprash to us

21HarishRawat3

Interview/ Harish Rawat, Uttarakhand chief minister

What is the purpose of the Uttarakhand Swabhiman Yatra?

The way the Central government has treated the state reeks of political vendetta. It orchestrated defections in the Congress and imposed president’s rule. All our proposals for development are pending with the Centre. They made the chief minister nonfunctional by lodging a first information report in a false case. This has hurt the pride of the people of Uttarakhand, and this is the reason I have undertaken this yatra.

Is the Congress not weakened by its senior leaders joining the BJP?

Their exit is, in fact, good for the Congress. The BJP has embraced leaders who were discredited. They had raised the slogan of Vijay Bahuguna, Brashtachar Sau Guna (Vijay Bahuguna, corruption a hundred times), and now he has become the BJP’s mascot. They have all been given tickets by the BJP, but they will all lose. So will the BJP.

Are you fighting a lonely battle?

It is a big fight. But the Congress campaign is not leader-centric. It is truly worker-centric. Wherever I am going, the party workers are telling me, “Chinta mat karo” (no need to worry). I have their full support. The Congress is safe in the hands of its workers.

Why did you need the help of Prashant Kishor?

There is no harm in utilising the expertise of Kishor and his team. He has boosted our efforts. He is like chyawanprash to us in these elections.

Why are you contesting from two seats?

Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar are numerically crucial. They together have 20 seats, of which we currently have only two. I told the party leadership that I would like to take up the challenge of getting a good haul from these two districts.

Many party rebels have filed nominations as independents.

We have managed to convince most of them to withdraw their candidature. I have personally reached out to them.

Won’t people want the same party that rules at the Centre to come to power in the state?

What is the guarantee that the BJP will win in 2019? People understand this.

Will the ‘fauji factor’ work in your favour?

The soldiers and ex-servicemen are hurt by the manner in which the BJP has cheated them on the issue of One Rank, One Pension. They have realised that it was just an election slogan.

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