9 Uttarakhand Congress rebels to join BJP, 'no strings attached'

DEHRADUN: The nine Congress rebels, who almost toppled the Harish Rawat-led government in Uttarakhand, have finally ended weeks of suspense on their allegiance. On Saturday, after meeting BJP chief Amit Shah at his residence in New Delhi, they formally threw in their lot with BJP.

The MLAs, some of whom had earlier said they would float their own parties - there was even talk of a few going back to a Congress sans Rawat - said they are ready to go with BJP and that too "without any conditions attached".
Former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat, one of the members of the breakaway group, said, "All of us are joining the party without any conditions and will work for the forthcoming rally of Amit Shah in Dehradun, which is scheduled for next month."

According to sources, the nine MLAs, including former CM Vijay Bahuguna, had been camping in New Delhi to meet Shah who was busy with election rallies in Kerala and then the Kumbh Snan in Ujjain. The rebels were expecting another round of talks with the BJP leadership later on Saturday, but it did not happen.

After the MLAs were disqualified - a move they are fighting against in court - there were rumours that some of them would float their own outfits and fight as independent candidates in assembly polls due in Uttarakhand next year.

The rebels' decision to join BJP has, meanwhile, received a mixed response from other leaders of the saffron party in the state. While one section claimed it would bolster their ranks, others thought that not much would change on the ground.

By the end of the day, there were also voices of disagreement within the rebel group. Khanpur legislator Kunwar Pranav Champion, one of the rebels, said, "I will fight the election as an independent and am confident of winning."