PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun/ Ramnagar Ignoring the order of party High Command, veteran Congress leader and former chief minister Harish Rawat started his Dhanyawad and Jan Samwad Yatra from Jaspur in Udham Singh Nagar district on Monday. The chairman of the election campaign committee of Uttarakhand Congress Pritam Singh, many MLAs and senior leaders of the party participated in the Yatra which is being seen as a show of strength by the 78 year old former CM. Accompanied by Pritam Singh, party MLAs Tilak Raj Behed, Harish Dhami, Manoj Tiwari and Adesh Singh Chauhan, former speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal and many senior leaders, Rawat received a very good public response at Jaspur, Kashipur, Kaladhungi, Ramanagar and Haldwani on Monday. Enroute the Yatra, Rawat thanked the people and party workers for standing firmly with him during the period when he was seriously ill and undergoing treatment in New Delhi. He said that the love of the people of the State helped him recuperate fast. The former CM appealed to the people to throw Bharatiya Janata Party out of power in the State in the Vidhan Sabha elections of 2027. 
The Yatra of Harish Rawat assumes significance since the in -charge of the Uttarakhand Congress, Kumari Selja had asked the veteran leader that he should not undertake any parallel programmes with the State unit of the party. In a letter which is viral on the social media, Selja said that there was no discussion with her and the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal for the Yatra of Harish Rawat. In the letter, she said that since the Vidhan Sabha elections in the State are near, there is a need to work unitedly. However, Rawat ignored the advice of the state party in-charge and went ahead with his plan to undertake the Yatra on Monday. After taking a night halt in Haldwani, the Yatra of Harish Rawat will reach Rudrapur on Tuesday. It is pertinent to mention here that in the recent past, the Congress high command has sidelined Rawat and his efforts to induct some senior leaders including Sanjay Negi of Ramnagar was also ignored by the party. The political analysts are of the view that considering his stature and the following he enjoys in different parts of the State, it will be difficult for the Congress leadership to continue ignoring Harish Rawat.
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