Harish Rawat Defies Congress Orders to Launch Outreach Yatra

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat launched the Dhanyawad evam Jan Samvad Yatra, a public outreach program running from Jaspur to Haldwani in the Kumaon region on October 5, 2026. The Indian National Congress high command and state in-charge Kumari Selja strongly objected to the campaign, warning Rawat against taking unilateral action outside the official party organization before the upcoming Assembly elections.

Rawat vowed to proceed with the yatra, asserting that the campaign serves the larger interest of the state and the party. This internal conflict follows a period of escalating tension; Rawat resigned from two party positions on September 11 and was subsequently excluded from the party's election team.

Simultaneously, Rawat is facing legal pressure from the Enforcement Directorate regarding alleged irregularities in the 2016 UKSSSC VPDO examination. Rawat dismissed the summons and related searches in Dehradun as politically motivated, attributing the investigation to the electoral anxieties of the Bharatiya Janata Party.