Dehradun, Sept. 7 -- Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat on Sunday defended his role in the party's defeats in the 2017 and 2022 Uttarakhand assembly elections, saying the Congress was overwhelmed by a strong "Hindutva wave" and alleging that the BJP used communal polarisation, money power and mass mobilisation during the campaigns. In a post on X, Rawat said: "Many of my well-wishers, including journalist friends, are constantly reminded of and troubled by the defeats of 2017 and 2022. They find a simple solution-pinning the responsibility for the loss entirely on me". Referring to the 2017 assembly election, Rawat said Uttarakhand voters were swept by what he described as a massive Hindutva wave originating from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. "If the voters of Uttarakhand were swept away by the massive 'Hindutva wave' that originated in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, Harish Rawat was not powerful enough to halt such a fierce storm". Drawing a comparison with other cities in Uttar Pradesh, Rawat said that if places such as Banaras and Prayag were influenced by the political wave, it would have been difficult for Haridwar to remain unaffected. He made similar observations about the 2022 assembly elections, saying the political circumstances could have been different if the Uttarakhand polls had not coincided with the elections in Uttar Pradesh. Rawat also alleged that the BJP had used "two blatant lies" to create communal polarisation in Uttarakhand during the 2022 election campaign. He accused the BJP of relying on what he described as baseless allegations, money power and large-scale mobilisation to influence the political environment. Despite the defeats, he praised Congress workers and the people of Uttarakhand for sustaining the party's electoral support. He said the Congress had managed to retain a vote share close to the level that helped it form the government in Uttarakhand in 2012, despite what he described as a strong political and communal wave. "In 2022, that vote share actually increased," Rawat said, claiming that the Congress's vote share had risen in Uttarakhand during a period when the party had not witnessed a similar increase elsewhere in north India. "Congress workers displayed unprecedented courage and wisdom by standing firm against this massive wave," he said, adding, repeatedly focusing only on defeats of 2017 and 2022 would also undermine the hard work and courage of party workers. The former chief minister expressed confidence about the Congress's prospects in the next assembly election and said a relatively small increase in its vote share could change the outcome. "If we can manage to increase our vote share by another 3-4% this time, Congress will return to power," Rawat said. Rawat's comments have come at a time when both BJP and Congress have begun stepping up organisational activity ahead of the 2027 assembly elections Harish Rawat has contested Lok Sabha polls nine times so far. He has been MP five times. Thrice he was elected from Almora constituency in 1980, 1984 and 1989 while once from Haridwar in 2009. He was also Rajya Sabha MP between 2002 and 2008. He was the Union minister of water resources in UPA-2 from 2012-14 and won the legislative seat from Dharchula in 2014. Despite Rawat's defeat in the 2017 assembly polls from two seats Haridwar Rural and Kiccha, the party's central leadership gave him a ticket to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar seat. He was defeated in this election by BJP's Ajay Bhat, with a margin of 339,096 votes. In 2022 assembly polls, he lost from Lalkuan to BJP's Mohan Singh Bisht by 17,527 votes. Responding to Rawat's remarks, BJP state spokesperson Suresh Tiwari said: "BJP has nothing to do with what former chief minister Harish Rawat says. The people of Uttarakhand are well aware of his tenure and the rampant and open plunder that took place under his government," Tiwari said. Referring to remarks allegedly made by Rawat during a sting operation, he claimed that public had not forgotten the former CM's statement that he would turn a blind eye and allow people to do as they pleased. "Now that his own party, the Congress, has sidelined him, Harish Rawat is making such statements merely to remain in the limelight," he said. Expressing confidence about the BJP's prospects in the 2027 Uttarakhand assembly elections, the BJP spokesperson said the party remained in a strong position in the state....