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In a timely word of advice to the Congress amid the string of exits and desertions from the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, former chief minister Harish Rawat on Friday said unless his party rediscover its 'hunger' for power, they will continue to bleed members and cede more ground to the BJP.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, the former CM and senior Congress leader said, "We have to rediscover and develop that hunger for power within ourselves. Else, we will continue to cede more ground to the BJP after every election." Voicing concern over BJP workers filling the vacuum left by the Congress 'at every stage', the veteran leader said the need of the hour was for the grand old party to revive and reinvent itself so that the party could have its leaders elected at every level. "Not just in national or provincial levels, even in villages and localities, their (BJP's) workers are filling our void. We cannot aspire to hold our own in villages and localities unless we beat the BJP at every level," Rawat said. On whether being in the INDIA block would help the Congress going into the general elections, the senior Congress leader said, "Our partners in the INDIA bloc are helping us renew our hunger for success and power." Stressing the need for a 'do-or-die' approach to the seven-phased general elections, the former Himachal CM said, "At this stage, every Congressman should come out in full strength, overcoming the hurdles that the ruling party in the state and Centre has created for us. We will struggle to achieve electoral success unless we go into elections with a strong resolve and a do-or-die approach." He said the Congress should be more 'efficient' in resource management and mobilsation if they are to compete with the BJP and get the better of them in elections. "Despite being in power in several states and the Centre, the BJP is better and more efficient in how it practices its politics on the ground. So, if we are to beat them, we need to be more efficient in how we mobilise our resources on the ground. Our workers should work towards wresting the ground that we ceded to the BJP," Rawat said. On the ongoing preparations for the Lok Sabha elections in the state, the senior Congress leader said party leaders in the state have the necessary hunger to succeed and see the elections as an opportunity to turn the tables on the BJP. "The Congress workers in Uttarakhand have the hunger to get us back to power and the general elections as an opportunity to go all-out against the BJP. We will put up a good fight on all the five (Lok Sabha) seats. We are hopeful of repeating our success in 2009 and win all seats," Rawat said. (ANI)
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