JOIN USThe Congress has run into fresh trouble in Uttarakhand after it decided to nominate Pradeep Tamta, a confidant of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, for the Rajya Sabha elections.
The Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), which had bailed out Rawat in the Supreme Court-monitored confidence vote earlier this month, has staked claim for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state.
It announced the nomination of Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai for the June 11 elections.
In a bid to embarrass the Congress, the BJP has announced support to Dhanai forcing Rawat into yet another round of fire-fighting exercise.
With Uttarakhand Congress leader Yashpal Arya also challenging Tamta’s nomination, the chief minister flew to Delhi to hold consultations with party leadership.
He was closeted with Ahmed Patel, the political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“There will be only one candidate. That much I can say,” Rawat told reporters to a volley of questions over the Rajya Sabha elections after meeting Patel.
However, the Congress appears to be in no mood to withdraw Tamta from the race and is working overtime to reach out to the aggrieved PDF.
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