Ex-CM’s elevation shows his growing clout in Congress

Jotirmay Thapliyal

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 18

Elevation of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat to the post of AICC general secretary and also party incharge for  Assam shows his growing clout in the party’s Central leadership.

Harish Rawat has found place in the 23-member All-India Congress Working Committee that too on the key post of general secretary. After the 2017 Assembly poll debacle, when the Congress fought elections in Uttarkhand under the leadership of Harish Rawat, the political future of Harish Rawat looked grim. Rawat had lost from both Assembly seats he had contested.

But Rawat proved his adversaries wrong with his promotion to the post of AICC general secretary. Rawat has a long innings in politics to his credit, which also includes his tenure as a Union minister in the UPA government. 

This is for the first time after formation of Uttarakhand that a senior Congress leader from the state has been elevated to the post of AICC general secretary.

Expressing gratitude to the Central leadership, Harish Rawat said it was a matter of honour for the people of Uttarakhand that despite being a small state, it has got a representation on a key Congress post.

With 2019 Lok Sabha elections not far away, Harish Rawat will play a key role in planning Congress strategy.

Move meant to help Pritam? 

Political observers see the development as a deliberate move by the Congress leadership to give a free hand to  state Congress president Pritam Singh as he was supposed to be working in the shadow of the former Chief Minister. There were two parallel forces working in the state and now with Harish Rawat (in pic) given other  responsibility, Pritam will have a free hand to deal with party organisational affairs.

.