Exuding confidence, Harish Rawat, former Punjab Congress in charge, in an exclusive interview with News18, said people will “strongly” vote for his party in the Punjab election, scheduled to be held on February 20, and “Punjabis will not go for an experiment”.
With just two days after the Uttarakhand polling for the 70-seat Assembly, Rawat said the Congress is “winning Uttarakhand with at least 48 seats”, and the party will also claim the majority in Punjab.
The past few months have been tumultuous for the Congress in Punjab with an alleged rift between Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Amarinder Singh, who eventually quit the post of the chief minister and the party, and Charanjit Singh Channi got the top post. During all this, Harish Rawat was the party’s state in charge. As claimed by him at the time, Rawat still said, “All is well within the Congress in Punjab”.
‘No Differences Between Sidhu and Channi’
As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced Channi as the chief ministerial candidate in Punjab last week, Rawat said, “Channi is a very prospective candidate. In his tenure of the 111 days as the Punjab CM, he has created an example for other CMs. He emerged as a common man’s CM. People felt that he is their own CM. Punjab will definitely vote for making him the CM again.”
When asked about the alleged cold war between Sidhu and Channi, Rawat said, “There are no differences between Sidhu and Channi, they are working for the same party. One is the president, and the other is the CM.”
Sidhu has not directly made any comment regarding Channi, but his wife, Navjot Kaur, who herself is a politician, and his daughter, Rabia Sidhu, have shown their displeasure publicly.
However, Rawat maintained that Sidhu is supporting Channi. “Sidhu is the PCC president. If the Congress wins in his leadership, it will open up prospects for his future. Sidhu will be proud and the Congress party will also acknowledge this,” Rawat explained.
“The Congress formed the government in my command in 2002, it is still working for me in politics,” Rawat said.
‘ED Raids Have Become the Norm’
With Congress projecting Channi as the “common man’s CM” and someone who rose from hardships, the opposition has been attacking the chief minister and the Congress in Punjab in relation to the raids on his nephew.
To this, Rawat said, “The ED (Enforcement Directorate) raids have become the norm wherever there is opposition to the BJP. If there is no raid, it feels like there is no opposition. Nobody takes ED raids seriously. People have also understood if you are not towing the line of the BJP, you are bound to face the ED.”
On the issue of infighting and candidates fielding their relatives against the Congress, Rawat said, “People vote for the party. The Congress will manage and will get these candidates to withdraw till the last minute. Even otherwise, the mandate will be in favor of the Congress. People don’t give a fractured mandate in a border state.”
‘Akali-AAP Clash will Favorite Us’
When asked who their main contender in Punjab is, Rawat said, “Akalis have tried to consolidate their vote but I think Akalis and AAP will clash with each other and the Congress will further gain from it.
“The AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) has no mature leadership. They have temperamental leadership which cannot work for any state. In the Congress, there are many politically mature leaders. Punjab will vote for stability,” Rawat added.
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