After observing the pre-poll situation in Uttarakhand for the past few months, Congress’s poll strategist Prashant Kishor and his team members from I-PAC, or, Indian Political Action Committee, made their first appearance before Congress workers in Haridwar on Wednesday.
While the Congress will fight the polls under Harish Rawat, the current chief minister, Mr. Kishor’s assistance would be of help, especially when Mr. Rawat is facing a CBI probe into a case of alleged horse-trading of MLAs, sources in the Congress said.
While the BJP is faced with intense infighting over party tickets, the Congress, on the contrary, is faced with a minor issue between Mr Rawat and the Uttarakhand Congress president Kishore Upadhyay over ticket distribution.
“The major issue here [in the Congress] is that of shifting focus from the allegations [of corruption] that the BJP has been using against Rawat towards the developmental works he has done for the State,” a source said, adding that Mr. Kishor’s team would be focusing on that image shift.
With Mr. Kishor’s entry, the Congress is now looking for candidates who could win maximum number of seats in the 70-member Assembly.
The differences between Mr. Rawat and Mr. Upadhyay have now been reduced to seats such as Dhanolti, Tehri, Devprayag, Yamkeshwar and Rudraprayag, where the State Congress president wants ticket for his favoured candidates.
Mr. Rawat said, “Elections are like the game of tug-of-war. If there are more people to help one win, it is a good thing. Also, PK [Prashant Kishor] has come with immense experience. His way of working will benefit us.”
“He [Mr. Kishor] is working for the party in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, so he is in Uttarakhand to ensure that similar approach is used by the party in all three states,” Mr Rawat said.
On Wednesday, Mr. Kishor held a meeting in Haridwar with Congress workers from 41 constituencies in the Garhwal region. “PK and his team addressed Congress workers, took their suggestions and asked for feedback. PK’s focus is on making the Congress win the upcoming polls… He will be holding his second meeting tomorrow [on Thursday] in Haldwani where he will interact with Congress workers from 29 constituencies in the Kumaon region,” state Congress vice-president Jot Singh Bisht told The Hindu.
While there is support from the Uttarakhand Congress over Mr Kishor’s guidance, there is scepticism from few Congress leaders over his plans on a strong social media campaign. A highly placed source in the Congress said, “Uttarakhand is a State with low internet connectivity and with many places under the snow [during this time], internet connectivity will be a challenge in most areas in the State. This would limit the social media campaign to only few areas.”
