JOIN USThe Congress on Tuesday ran into fresh trouble in Uttarakhand as two BJP leaders filed their nomination papers as independent candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections, queering the pitch for its nominee Pradeep Tamta.
It was only on Tuesday morning that Tamta had heaved a sigh of relief as Congress ally Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) had agreed to withdraw its candidate Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai from the Rajya Sabha race following some hectic negotiations with Congress managers in Delhi.
Soon after Tamta, escorted by Chief Minister Harish Rawat, had submitted his nomination papers to the principal secretary of the Uttarakhand Assembly, Leader of the Opposition Ajay Bhat walked in with BJP leaders Geeta Thakur and Anil Goel to hand over their nomination papers as Independent candidates.
Though the Congress is confident of support for Tamta, considered to be a close confidant of the chief minister, BJP is banking on the support of certain disgruntled elements in the Congress as well as the PDF, whose support is crucial for the government.
Tamta’s candidature had ruffled feathers within the Congress ranks with former state unit chief Yashpal Arya questioning the choice. The PDF, which has been supporting the Congress government since 2012, had announced the candidature of Dinesh Dhanai, an Independent legislator.
Rawat rushed to Delhi on Monday and mollified Arya by having him speak to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He later worked up the phone lines and got Dhanai to withdraw his candidature. But the fresh challenge came from the BJP.