Former CM Harish Rawat shifted from Ram Nagar to Lal Kuan and his strong opponent Ranjit Rawat given Salt with former MP Mahendra Pal sent to Ram Nagar. Seat of Kaladhungi given to Mahesh Sharma

In a new development in Uttarakhand Congress, the three tickets declared in the list of eleven have been changed with chief Uttarakhand Congress strategist, chairman of state’s election campaign committee n former CM Harish Rawat given Congress ticket from Lal Kuan and former MP Mahendra Pal from Ram Nagar. The former lawmaker Ranjit Rawat who had lost the election of MLA from here in 2017 and giving threat of contesting as Independent candidate to counter Harish Rawat at all costs if his candidature is not retained, have been shifted to Salt from where he had asked his son, block pramukh to contest as independent. From Kaladhungi assembly constituency party’s state general secretary Mahesh Sharma was given Congress ticket.

According to the senior vice president of Uttarakhand Congress Dhirendra Pratap, this decision was taken unanimously.

It has also been decided to support the Lansdowne candidate and daughter in law of Dr. Harak Singh Rawat Anukriti Gusain from Lansdowne, Gargwak, wholeheartedly to make her victorious forgetting their past differences said Pratap after meeting the Uttarakhand Incharge Devendra Yadav and Avinash Pandey, Screening committee chairman of Uttarakhand.

It may be recalled that after the release of the second list of eleven Congress candidates from Uttarakhand in which Harish Rawat was declared the candidate from Ram Nagar, Mahendra Pal Singh, ex MP from Kaladhungi and Sandhya Dalakoti from Lal Kuan with Harish Rawat’s strongest opponent from Ram Nagar Ranjit Rawat completely sidelined, there were tremendous protests and hostilities with local Congress workers, leaders and claimants threatening to contest independently posing direct threat to the Congress candidates with chances of losing these assembly seats.

There was tremendous media hype too sending a message across that weak candidates were given tickers from these assembly seats with Congress likely to lose from here.

The former CM Harish Rawat who was likely to file the nomination from Ram Nagar despite several local workers n leaders backed by Ram Nagar former lawmaker Ranjit Rawat opposing him tooth and nail, had to finally relent and change his constituency to Lal Kuan at the last moment.

Similarly, the high command immediately came into action and changed these seats with immediate effect.

But what is important in this whole development is that the opponent of Harish Rawat from Ram Nagar who had even gone to the extent of contesting independently to ensure his former Boss’s defeat Ranjit Rawat was not given Ram Nagar but shifted to Salt, a tough seat having immense influence of BJP and late two term lawmaker Surendra Jeena whose brother Mahesh Jeena is the lawmaker at present. This change in seat from Ram Nagar to Salt is a huge setback to Ranjit Rawat eagerly and desperately wanting to contest fro here.

Harish Rawat and Ranjit Rawat were is absolutely good terms from 2014 to 2017 and earlier as well considered as famous Guru Chela jodi in Uttarakhand but after 2017 when Rawat was dethroned from power his relationship became extremely sour with the Guru chela not ready to look each other eye to eye, hell bent upon degrading each other.

In this entire development while Rawat was constrained to change his likeable seat of Ram Nagar earlier snatched from Ranjit Rawat, against his wishes due to the critical situation created by his strongest political opponent within Congress, he too ensured that Ranjit is sent to the losing seat of Salt, not worth contesting for Ranjit Rawat.