By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
In a clear indication of a possible rapprochement with the Congress high command, former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Wednesday announced that he was postponing nine more ‘Dhanyawad evam Jansamvad Yatras’ that he had planned across the state.
Rawat’s decision came a day after he went ahead with his Jaspur-Haldwani yatra despite a directive from the party leadership asking him to put his independent outreach programmes on hold. Congress general secretary and Uttarakhand in-charge Kumari Selja had objected to his programmes, describing them as a parallel exercise and stressing the need for a united front ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Announcing the postponement, Rawat said he had planned nine more thanksgiving yatras and had already assigned responsibilities to people for organising them.
“I apologise to my organising colleagues and party workers for the inconvenience they will face because of the postponement of these nine yatras,” Rawat said in a statement.
He also appeared to leave the door open for a compromise with the party organisation.
“I will try that the party also makes a public dialogue programme on the lines of my programme and I become a part of it. For now, I will wait,” he said.
Rawat’s statement is being seen as a significant softening of his position after the Congress leadership objected to his solo political programmes. He had earlier proceeded with the Jaspur-Haldwani leg despite Selja’s October 1 letter advising him not to hold the yatra.
Rawat is expected to meet Selja in the next couple of days to discuss the issue. Sources said the meeting could take place on Wednesday or Thursday, after which the two sides may try to work out a mutually acceptable programme for his political outreach.
The latest development comes amid renewed efforts by the Congress leadership to ensure that its Uttarakhand leaders conduct their political activities under a coordinated party programme rather than through separate campaigns ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.
Participating in Save Votes – Save the Country March in Haridwar, Kumari Selja said she would meet Harish Rawat but made it clear that nobody was above the party.