Increased political activity of Abhishake Singh, son of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Pritam Singh, who had recently left his job with United Nations to be engrossed in politics, has lent credence to the speculation that Pritam Singh wants to hand over the political legacy started by his father late Gulab Singh to Abhishake.
It is believed that Singh is eying the Tehri Lok Sabha seat for the political debut of his son. There are many in the Congress who believe that either Abhishake or his father Pritam Singh would be the Congress candidate for the prestigious Tehri Lok Sabha seat.
In the 2014 Parliamentary election, Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah of BJP had won from Tehri, keeping the flag of the royal family fluttering high, from the constituency which has traditionally supported the royal clan. She had defeated Saket Bahuguna, son of then Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, who contested on a Congress ticket by a huge margin of 1,99,503 votes. Things, however, have changed this time as Bahuguna family is now in the saffron camp.
Taking advantage of the absence of Bahuguna family from the contest, Pritam Singh is pitching for his son or himself being given the Congress ticket from Tehri.
However, the Singhs are not alone jockeying for the seat. Apart from them, the former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Kishore Upadhyaya is supposed to have his focus trained on the constituency. As part of the strategy to pave way for his nomination, Upadhyaya who had a bitter relationship with the former Chief Minister, Harish Rawat, during his tenure as the PCC chief has now mended fences with Rawat who might call the shots for the Lok Sabha election pick, given his sway in the Congress’s national level politics.
Upadhyaya’s presence, during the first phase of the Parivartan Yatra which covered parts of the Tehri Lok Sabha constituency, also underlined his intention for the Lok Sabha candidature.
Veteran leader and former State Minister Matbar Singh Kandari is also in the race for the Congress ticket from the seat. Though age might mar his prospects Kandari, who earlier was in the BJP, holds a considerable influence in the constituency .
The names of others like the State Congress vice-president Jot Singh Bisht, former State Minister Surveer Singh Sajwan and Jot Singh Gunsola are also making rounds as Congress probable for the high-stake Tehri seat.