Harish Rawat throws party, says Congress forming govt in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: Confident that the Congress "will win an absolute majority in

Uttarakhand

", former chief minister and senior leader Harish Rawat threw a party on Sunday and followed it up with a media interaction on Monday. "The party (Congress) will win 48 of 70 seats. The number may vary by one or two seats, but we will be fairly close to the 50-seat mark," Rawat announced.

He added, "It's not so much a fight between Congress and BJP as it is between the ruling party and the common man. People are fed up with the BJP. The common man felt cheated when BJP changed three CMs. It did not go down well with residents suffering from inflation, unemployment, migration and the poor state of basic facilities." The BJP was quick to respond. It said it will "come back to power by winning 60 of 70 seats".

BJP state vice-president

Devendra Bhasin

said that people had voted for development, "which was done hand-in-hand by the central and state government". He said: "Projects like the

Rishikesh-Karnaprayag

rail route,

Char Dham

all-weather road,

Dehradun-Delhi

economic corridor are results of the BJP's vision. It was appreciated by the people. The Congress needs to sit in the opposition (benches) for another five years."

A veteran poll watcher said, "Due to several factors, the contest between the two major parties in Uttarakhand is closer than ever. For the BJP, the (PM) Modi factor has been a major boost. Congress has anti-incumbency on its side and its promise of providing LPG cylinders for less than Rs 500 has been welcomed. Internal sabotage and members of both parties turning rebels has made the fight more intriguing."

While both parties have been hit by factionalism and rebellion, with leaders crossing over from BJP to Congress and vice-versa, Rawat's confidence may also have been strengthened by at least five BJP candidates in the recent past accusing their own party members of "internal sabotage". State BJP chief

Madan Kaushik

was among those accused of "plotting" a fellow partyman's fall, an allegation he refuted. Uttarakhand has always alternated between BJP and Congress governments since its formation in 2000.

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