Harish Rawat, Congress chief prepare separate list of candidates for assembly polls

DEHRADUN: Long-simmering tensions between chief minister Harish Rawat and state Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay have again come to the fore at the time of ticket distribution for 2017 assembly elections.

According to party insiders, battle lines have been drawn between Rawat and Upadhyay with both preparing two separate lists of candidates. The senior leaders came up with separate lists after "serious differences" emerged between the two on fielding candidates from as many as 15 seats.

Three meetings of the Congress screening committee, presided over by former Union minister for social justice and empowerment Kumari Selja, have failed to resolve the deadlock over ticket distribution, a party source said. The separate lists of candidates prepared by CM Harish Rawat and the state Congress chief is expected to be discussed before the Congress Central Election Committee in the next few days.



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A Congress member on condition of anonymity told TOI, "Both Rawat and Upadhyay have claimed that tickets on 63 seats have been finalised but there are at least 15 seats, including those won by Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) members in 2012, on which differences exist between the two camps."

He added that some party members, including MLAs, have been asked to shift their seat, to accommodate PDF members. "While Upadhyay is pitching for organisation workers, Rawat has thrown his weight behind fielding PDF and BJP turncoats on Congress ticket." Congress's ally PDF — which comprises three Independent MLAs, 2 BSP MLAs and one from Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) — has been a bone of contention between Rawat and Upadhyay, with the duo engaging in a public spat over the issue several times this year.