With dust and heat of electoral politics steadily settling down after completion of a series of elections in the state, the improved position of Congress in the 70-member State legislative Assembly after it bagged all the three seats up for grabs in the recently concluded by- polls, has made many within the party to eye the solitary Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand which keeps lying vacant since the incumbent — senior BJP leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari — was elected to the lok Sabha from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar parliamentary seat.
The battle is likely to be an interesting one as, at least, three party satraps — former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and State Congress president Kishore Upadhyay are said to have thrown their hats in the ring. “There are several contenders in Vijay Bahuguna, Kishore Upadhyay and others as of now from the party,” said Dhirendra Pratap, while talking to The Pioneer.
But finally the party's high command would take the final call, added Pratap. “But my point is that the Rajya Sabha members should be elected from Uttarakhand. No outsider should be pushed up,” he said. For instance of Shushma Swaraj being elected a Rajya Sabha member from the state, he said, she had seldom visited the state. “She cared not visit to show empathy for the suffering people even when the natural calamity struck the state hard last year, he alleged.
As Congress is enjoying a clear- cut majority in the State legislative Assembly with the support guaranteed from its alliance partners, the candidate to be put up by it is sure to win the Rajya Sabha election.
Notably, the ruling party's tally went up to 35 in the 70-member House after it had bagged three seats in the recently concluded by- elections. Besides, it has support from seven MlAs from alliance partners. BJP’s present strength is 28 in the House.
However, it would be interesting to see to what extent the Chief Minister Harish Rawat who has so far succeeded to have his way in managing things within the party and the Government in the state, is able to lead things his way over the Rajya Sabha election in the coming days.