U’khand Cong leaders meet Shah, buzz on exodus to BJP
DEHRADUN: Seven Uttarakhand Congress leaders, including a cabinet minister and two MLAs, met BJP president Amit Shah in Delhi a week ago to discuss their plan to join the saffron party, setting off a buzz on another round of defections, sources said.
Nine rebel Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna and former minister Harak Singh Rawat, had revolted against chief minister Harish Rawat early this year, and later joined the BJP.
The seven Congress leaders, who met Shah, were miffed with the party after they were asked to change their constituencies for assembly elections due in three months, sources said.
“Both the MLAs and the minister have been asked by the party leaders, who have say in ticket distribution, to contest from their adjoining constituencies, but they are not willing to accept that. They are also uncertain about their nominations for assembly elections,” said an aide of state Congress president Kishore Upadhyay.
“The party leaders want to replace the cabinet minister with a senior BJP leader who is willing to contest on a Congress ticket.”The seven Congress leaders have told the AICC leadership about their problems in the party, but the high command has remained silent, sources said.
Sanjay Kapoor, an AICC in-charge of Uttarakhand, denied that the central leadership was informed about the Congress leaders meeting the BJP national president. “I don’t think any Congress worker from Uttarakhand will take such a step despite knowing well that the party is coming back to power. If there is resentment among some leaders, it will certainly be addressed,” Kapoor told Hindustan times.
He was to reach Dehradun on Saturday to meet Upadhyay and Rawat to work out a unity formula for the 2017 elections, but cancelled the programme as the PCC president was suffering from dengue.