Amidst ongoing protests by supporters of some disappointed or anxious ticket hopefuls, the Congress announced the names of Narendra Chandra Ramola and Manmohan Singh Mall as its candidates from the Tehri and Dhanaulti Vidhan Sabha constituencies respectively on Tuesday.
The Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesman Mathura Datt Joshi informed that the PCC chief Kishore Upadhyay had gone to meet the party Central leadership in New Delhi on Tuesday evening and was expected to return to Dehradun later in the night.
The names of the Congress candidates for five remaining constituencies could be declared late on Tuesday night or on Wednesday, he added.
Meanwhile, two groups of supporters of Congress ticket hopefuls continued protest demonstration for the third day at the Congress Bhawan. While supporters of disappointed Sahaspur ticket seeker Aryendra Sharma carried on their protest demanding he be fielded from Sahaspur, another group of party members staged a demonstration demanding that the candidate yet to be declared for the constituency should not be an “outsider”.
Sharma’s supporters even displayed a large banner at the Congress Bhawan compound demanding justice from the Congress national president and vice president whose pictures were also displayed on the banner along with those of CM Harish Rawat and PCC chief Kishore Upadhyay who is also the party’s Sahaspur candidate.
Talking to The Pioneer, the PCC chief spokesman confirmed the declaration of party’s Tehri and Dhanaulti candidates, while stressing that no changes will be made in the list of party candidates.
The PCC chief will be filing his papers from Sahaspur on Wednesday with the CM Harish Rawat slated to file his nomination from Kichha on the same day, added Joshi. It is to be noted that the Congress is yet to declare its candidates from the Raipur, Jaspur, Gadarpur, Someshwar and Bageshwar Vidhan Sabha constituencies.
In Dehradun, those thought to be supporters of eunuch social worker and ticket seeker from Raipur constituency, Rajni Rawat demonstrated at the Congress Bhawan on Tuesday against possibility of an “outsider” being parachuted to contest from Raipur. The supporters of Sahaspur constituency ticket seeker Aryendra Sharma too continued their protest on the third day on Tuesday insisting that the party field him from the constituency.
The party organisation on the other hand suspended seven more office bearers from the Sahaspur constituency for indiscipline and causing damage to the party office, already having suspended eight office bearers on Monday. In a statement signed by the Dehradun district Congress committee (rural) head Yameen Ansari, seven party office bearers from Sahaspur were suspended from the party for a period of six years for staging protests against the candidate announced by the party for Sahaspur constituency and causing damage at PCC office and to the party organisation.
Those suspended on Tuesday include Mahila Congress district head Shaheen Bano for using uncivilised language against PCC chief, district spokesman JK Raturi, district vice president Rakesh Chaudhary, district organisation secretary Santram, district general secretary (INTUC) Neeraj Tiwari, State organisation secretary of minority department, Moin Khan and block chief organiser Geeta Maurya.