‘Uttarakhandiyat' to kafal fruit to hill outreach: Congress readies 2027 game plan against BJP

Indian Express

25-05-2025

The Congress in Uttarakhand has begun laying the ground for the 2027 Assembly polls, looking to centre its campaign around the state's identity.
All through May, Congress veteran and former chief minister Harish Rawat toured different cities in Uttarakhand to relaunch his memoir, Uttarakhandiyat, Mera Jeevan Lakshy. The book, which was originally published in 2021, would give 'a deeper understanding of regional identity', Rawat said.
On May 18, Rawat, 77, also hosted a party to promote the kafal fruit grown in the hill districts of the state. Also known as bayberry, kafal is rooted in the culture and traditions of the region and is considered a symbol of the identity of the people of Uttarakhand.
Hosting politicians and media at the event, where he brought the red berry-like fruit from his village in Almora, Rawat spoke of his efforts to popularise the fruit.
Kafal is now being sold in Dehradun for Rs 600 per kg, Rawat said, adding: 'I wish these fruits were taken to Delhi so that it could reach the Uttarakhandi sisters and brothers there… I want the state government to support these occupations which, even if only temporarily, provide a livelihood to thousands of people… Especially those who currently have poor means of sustenance.'
He is also set to travel across the hill districts of Uttarakhand. He is now visiting the homes of ex-servicemen in the wake of Operation Sindoor, with the people of the state having a long history of association with the armed forces.
Rawat told The Indian Express that the emphasis on 'Uttarakhandiyat' or the identity of Uttarakhand would be a counter to the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led BJP government in the state.
'Currently, the BJP government (in Uttarakhand) is emulating the UP model. From bulldozers and encounters to the promotion of big industries without a care for the ecology and biodiversity here, the government is ignoring the cultural ethos, economy and environment of Uttarakhand. If we wanted to be a photocopy of UP, we would not have struggled for a different state,' Rawat said.
The only way to govern Uttarakhand, Rawat said, is by representing the 'state's culture, ethos, soul, food, languages, craft, and art'.
The Congress is also making a concerted effort to amplify its demand for bringing the state's hill region under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. The Fifth Schedule pertains to the administration and governance of scheduled areas and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in states across India. It provides for the establishment of a Tribes Advisory Council, which advises the Governor on matters related to the welfare of STs.
Congress spokesperson Dhirendra Pratap recently endorsed this demand, which had been gathering steam since last year after being taken up by a group called Uttarakhand Ekta Manch.
Pratap urged the Dhami government to pass a resolution in the Assembly and ask the Centre to include the state under the Fifth Schedule. Along with other Congress leaders, he has argued that 'the rights and founding values of the hill regions are being eroded'. The way to preserve culture, he said, would be through 'continued struggle'.
If the hill areas of the state are brought under the Fifth Schedule, it would grant their communities rights over land, forests, and natural resources there.
Pratap said the Fifth Schedule demand would also feature prominently in the 2027 Assembly election manifesto of the Congress. 'The Congress has always stood by this demand, and I am confident that this is in the larger interest of our state. The Uttarakhandis will go to the polls knowing it is in their interest. BJP has not been working in favour of the country,' he added.
The Congress's bid to reach out to the hill districts comes just weeks after the BJP leader Premchand Aggarwal's controversial remarks on 'paharis' resulted in his resignation as the finance minister and provided an opportunity to the Congress to project itself as the 'voice of the hills'.
Hills constitute 86% or 4.6 million hectares of Uttarakhand, with plains amounting to 14% or 0.7 million hectares. While 40 Assembly seats out of 70 fall in the hill districts, the three districts in the plains — Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar — account for the remaining 30 seats.
The Congress camp hopes that this mobilisation would help the party in the 2027 polls. The party lost power in the state in 2017, when it was reduced to 11 seats. It could not challenge the BJP in the 2022 polls, even as the party improved its tally to 19 seats.
On the Lok Sabha front, the Congress has drawn a blank in the 2019 and 2024 polls. In another blow earlier this year, the Congress could not get a single seat in the Uttarakhand mayoral elections.
A Congress leader said the party's focus on hill districts can make a dent in the BJP's performance and could give a 'much-needed boost' to the party.
State BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt said the Congress's outreach would not pay off.
'Congress has consistently been losing elections. In the upcoming panchayat elections and the Assembly polls, this will continue. Harish Rawat is hosting such events to portray that he is still active… In the same breath, he says he will not contest elections. It is time for him to quit politics,' Bhatt said.