Virender got Cong ticket from Haridwar for being dedicated party worker: Harish Rawat

Former chief minister Harish Rawat on Sunday threw his weight behind Congress candidate from Haridwar Lok Sabha seat Virender Rawat saying he got the ticket not because he is his son but in recognition of his track record as a dedicated party worker. The party high command gathered a lot of information about Virender Rawat as a party worker before finalising his candidature, the Congress veteran who had himself won the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat in 2009 said.

"Virender Rawat has worked continuously as a Congress worker in Uttarakhand since 1998 and has been active in Haridwar since 2009, standing with people in every village of the area through thick and thin," Harish Rawat said in a post on X.

He has been the president of Dayal Singh Degree College students' union in 1996, general secretary of Delhi NSUI, vice president of Youth Congress in Uttarakhand, and is now vice president of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee, Harish Rawat said about his son in the post.


"Virendra is both a son and a disciple, but I would like to say one thing with full confidence that in terms of service, dedication and development-oriented thinking, he will prove to be even better than me," he said.

The Congress on Saturday announced its candidates for the two remaining Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand fielding Harish Rawat's elder son Virender Rawat from Haridwar and Prakash Joshi from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar.

Virender Rawat is pitted against former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat of the BJP while Joshi will take on Union minister Ajay Bhatt.

In 2014 and 2019 general elections, Haridwar was won by BJP's Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank who was not given a ticket this time.