Several Congress workers upset with the ticket distribution for the Uttarakhand polls, which will be held on February 15, raised slogans against Chief Minister Harish Rawat and vandalised the party office in Dehradun on Sunday, PTI reported. This came shortly after the party declared its candidates for 63 seats in the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly.
The list of candidates was decided at a meeting with chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Saturday night. State party chief Kishore Upadhyay has been fielded from the Sahapur Assembly seat instead of party leader Ayendra Sharma. Suryakant Dhasmana, who was acquitted by a Central Bureau of Investigation court in 2012 in connection with killing one person and injuring two others, has been fielded from Cantt seat instead of Navin Bisht.
Supporters of Sharma and Bisht threw chairs, broke furniture at the party office and tore posters of Rawat and Upadhyay, reported IANS. However, the Uttarakhand Congress chief said no action will be taken against them as the violence was done in the “heat of the moment”. Upadhyay also said candidates for the remaining seven seats will be announced soon.
Uttarakhand CM Rawat has been fielded from two constituencies – Kichha and Haridwar Rural. State Cabinet ministers Dinesh Aggarwal, Surendra Singh have been given tickets from Dharampur and Kotdwar respectively, reported NDTV.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!