Uttarakhand: Dissent in Congress over bid to push turncoats

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Sources said in more than half-a-dozen seats in Uttarakhand, the Rawat faction is keen to field outsiders, some of whom are said to be in line to join the party in the coming days, and former Congress rebels.

Sources said three MLAs — Hari Dass, Mantri Prasad Naithani and Harish Chandra Durgapal — who are now part of the PDF, which is supporting the Rawat government, could join the Congress soon and contest on Congress tickets. Hari Dass has been denied ticket by his party BSP from Jhabrera seat.

Naithani had contested as a Congress rebel against official candidate Shurvir Sajwan from Devprayag seat. He won and was made minister as a PDF nominee. Durgapal is an MLA from Lalkuwa.

Sources said there are attempts to field Ghansali MLA Bheem Lal Arya, who joined the Congress from the BJP, as also Bhimtal Dan Singh Bhandari, who joined the party six months ago after resigning as BJP MLA. Sources said two PDF MLAs — UKD’s Pritam Singh Panwar and Independent MLA Dinesh Dhanai — are mounting pressure on the Congress not to put up candidates against them. “It will be suicidal if we don’t put up candidates against them. They are supporting the Rawat government now. But what is the guarantee that they will continue to support us if BJP emerges as the single largest party and is short of majority by a few MLAs,” a Congress leader said.