Rahul Gandhi to intervene in choosing Cong candidates for Haridwar & Nainital?
Saturday, 16 March 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is likely to intervene to solve the tangle of allotment of party tickets in Haridwar and Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar Lok Sabha seats. Since Gandhi is at present busy in his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra which is culminating in Mumbai with a rally at Shivaji Park on March 17, the announcement of the names of the candidates for the remaining two constituencies is likely to be made on March 18 or 19 after his return to New Delhi. The meetings of the Central Election Committee (CEC), the apex body of the Congress party for selection of the candidates have already been completed and the party is likely to announce the names of the candidates in those constituencies of the country where differences in opinion have resulted in the party withholding the names of the candidates after discussions with Rahul Gandhi.
It is likely that Gandhi will hold discussions with the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara and leader of the opposition (LoP) in the State Assembly Yashpal Arya in the presence of State in-charge Kumari Selja and head of the screening committee Bhaktcharan Das to select candidates for Haridwar and Nainital- Udham Singh Nagar seats. Former chief minister Harish Rawat has also arrived in Delhi and he is also likely to be consulted.
It is worth mentioning here that the ruling BJP has already declared its candidates for all the five Lok Sabha seats in the State. The Congress on the other hand has declared candidates for three constituencies. The Congress party has fielded former PCC president Ganesh Godiyal from Garhwal, veteran Pradeep Tamta from Almora-Pithoragarh and Jot Singh Gunsola from Tehri Lok Sabha seats. In Haridwar former chief minister Harish Rawat is the natural choice of the party but he is advocating for a ticket for his son Virendra Rawat. The PCC president Karan Mahara is also in the race from Haridwar. In Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar the party is to select from the claims of LoP Yashpal Arya, Ranjit Rawat, deputy leader in the State Assembly Bhuwan Kapdi and Jaspur MLA Adesh Singh Chauhan.
