Uttarakhand Elections 2017: People are asking if Modi will be Uttarakhand CM - Harish Rawat

Describing himself as a chief minister of a small state devoted to 'Uttarakhandiyat', a combative Harish Rawat says the only hurdle to victory is the BJP funding 'vote katwas', independents cutting the Congress' votes.

And the BJP is supporting "someone like that" in almost all 70 seats, Rawat told DNA in an exclusive interview as he took on the opposition party, which hasn't projected a chief ministerial candidate and is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its main attraction.

"A vote for me is a vote for Uttarakhand," the Congress leader said, seemingly unafraid about a de-facto Rawat-Modi polarity. Asked if it was a battle between him and PM, he said, "He is a prime minister. I am a chief minister of a small state. There is no comparison. But he has nothing to show in Uttarakhand while I have done many things here."

That he was one amongst the people unlike Modi is a point he was at pains to stress at a rally by the lake on an idyllic sunny winter morning here. As he began, a group of people carrying Congress flags joined in shouting, "Harda aa gaya (Harda has come)." Discussing local issues like roads, water, power, schools and even cow milk, 'Harda' took frequent digs at the prime minister. He wasn't a magician like the "Dilli ke Baba", he said, an apparent reference to Modi, but "a simple man who was treading slowly, taking small steps".

Later, as he hopped on to a helicopter to continue his campaign for the February 15 polls, he exuded confidence that people favoured the Congress despite it being the ruling party.

Projecting himself as a humble man, he told DNA that his focus was on issues revolving around "Uttarakhandiyat", cultural identity, and his connect with the people was his biggest advantage.

While the BJP is banking on Modi's rallies and central policies like welfare schemes, surgical strikes and demonetisation, Rawat's narrative revolves around "jal, jungle, zameen (water, forest, land)."

Rawat -- who says he is a "not out batsman" -- went on to list the "negative" activities of the centre, which had become the face of BJP in the state. He cited "dal dadal", imposition of President's rule, "losses" through recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, denial of the Rs.8,000 announced by the UPA government after the 2013 deluge, shutting down HMT and IDBL, implementing the Eco Sensitive Zone notification and curtailing the kerosene quota. "It looks like the centre was insensitive to us."

Rawat said he had ensured recovery after 2013 and reconstruction in Kedarnath and other pilgrimage spots devastated by the floods in one-and-a-half years. "I was the first CM to focus on culture, tradition, agriculture, water, forest and land. I ask how many roads has BJP made. It's not even 400. I have completed 1,343 roads."

That "tainted" Congress MLAs moving to the BJP had taken the edge off BJP's anti-incumbency and anti-corruption planks was apparent when Rawat said, "Vijay Bahuguna and those people against whom there were corruption charges are now in the BJP.... People are understanding BJP's corruption slogan is hollow. It's a blatant admission of helping the corrupt." The BJP had alleged that corruption had increased a hundred times under former chief minister Bahuguna.

About being seen as an astute politician who did away with corruption to shed the baggage of anti-incumbency, he said, "it cannot be called a plant. They should have waited. But the day they boarded the BJP ship, the party wrote the script... "

The Modi factor

Asked how he was countering the Modi factor, the BJP's trump card, he said, "Modi's image as prime minister has blurred after demonetisation. People have started asking where are the two crore jobs. There is a class which supported Modi but is upset after demonetisation. There is a lot of big talk but nothing to show in Uttarakhand. Had he come and put balm on the wounds, he may have had some impact."

He also pointed out that BJP had failed to project a chief ministerial candidate. "It's a state election. Who is there on your (BJP) side to take on Harish Rawat."

Asked if the BJP not having a chief ministerial candidate was an advantage, he said, "Their faces stand exposed. (B.C.) Khanduri was removed because of failure and (Ramesh Pokhriyal) Nishank because of corruption. (Vijay) Bahuguna faces allegations of corruption. The BJP was not confident of projecting a face."

On his rivals projecting PM as the central figure, he said, "It is an insult to the PM. People ask if Modi will be chief minister. It's a difficult question which Modi cannot answer."

Asked who would have been the best bet to be the face in the state BJP, he paused, smiled and said, "I think PM is their best bet as of now."

Confident that there was no anti-incumbency against Congress in a state, which has had a tradition of wafer thin margins and voting alternately for either the Congress or the BJP, he said this time Uttarakhand would vote for "a clear majority and a stable government".