Of 9 Congress rebels, only Harak Rawat failed to get along with BJP

Of the nine "Congress rebels" who had joined the BJP from the Congress in 2016, Harak Singh Rawat may have been the only exception, as all the others seem to have settled down well in the BJP.

While Harak was never comfortable with the BJP, the rest of them not only participated in party activities but also strengthened the grip on their constituencies by building relationships with ground level workers.

"Harak was also eyeing the Lansdowne seat to field his daughter-in-law Anukriti Gosain as BJP nominee. BJP has its sitting MLA from the same Lansdowne seat. The party was not ready to give a ticket to his daughter-in-law," said a source in the BJP.


Shaila Rani Rawat, who was part of the group of "nine Congress MLAs", who had revolted against the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat and joined the BJP in 2016, had lost the 2017 assembly elections.

"I am again seeking a ticket from the BJP to contest the assembly polls from my seat, Kedarnath. I hope to get the BJP ticket," she said. According to her, she has no problem in the BJP and she participates in all the party's political activities.

Agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal, who won the Narendra Nagar seat as BJP nominee, was also part of the same "nine MLAs" group. "Since the party trusts him, he has been assigned with the task of briefing the media as the state government's official spokesperson," said a source in the BJP.