Congress candidate and former Mayor of Dehradun, Manorama Dobriyal Sharma filed nomination for the Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand at the Vidhan Sabha on Monday in the presence of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kishore Upadhyaya and other party leaders. At the last moment the BJP decided to not field its candidate for Rajya Sabha stating that with its comparatively fewer numbers in the Vidhan Sabha and considering the importance accorded to women empowerment by the BJP, the party had decided to give the Congress candidate a walk over though its State general secretary Naresh Bansal had earlier bought a nomination form. The election to the Rajya Sabha seat is slated to be held on November 20
The announcement of Sharma’s name by the Congress as its candidate for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand had surprised many recently as she was not even being considered among those hopeful of being fielded by the party. On Monday, Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyaya, party State co-in charge Sanjay Kapoor, cabinet minister Indira Hridayesh, Yashpal Arya, Dinesh Aggarwal and MlAs were present at the Vidhan Sabha when Sharma filed her nomination. Though some MlAs said to be loyal to former CM Vijay Bahuguna were not present, MlAs Vijaypal Sajwan, Vikram Singh Negi, Rajkumar and Umesh Sharma ‘Kau’ of the Bahuguna faction were present. Talking to the media later, CM Harish Rawat appreciated the decision taken by the BJP to give the Congress candidate a walk-over upholding political traditions. With her election to the Rajya Sabha being considered only a matter of time, Manorama Dobriyal Sharma said that she would strive to work for the welfare of the people of Uttarakhand, especially the disaster affected, by ensuring provision of required funds for various works in Uttarakhand. She rejected reports about the Bahuguna faction being unhappy with her candidature.
Meanwhile, the BJP State general secretary Naresh Bansal who was slated to be fielded by the party, did not file his nomination after discussions in the party held till the last moment. The BJP State chief Tirath Singh Rawat said that the party decided not to stake a claim to the Rajya Sabha seat due to unfavourable numbers in the Assembly. leader of opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, Ajay Bhatt said that the BJP had decided to give the Congress candidate a walk over to reciprocate to the Congress which had earlier given walk overs to BJP candidates for Rajya Sabha twice when the Congress did not enjoy majority in the Assembly.