The air of expectancy, anxiety and politics in the Congress Bhawan turned violent for some time on Sunday after issuance of the first list of the party’s candidates for Vidhan Sabha election 2017. The supporters of some party leaders including Aryendra Sharma—who was a ticket hopeful from Sahaspur Assembly constituency – turned violent tearing posters, throwing chairs around while raising slogans against the chief minister and the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president. Such was the apparent anger that the large poster carrying the picture of the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was also removed from atop the Congress Bhawan building where it was pegged.
As soon as the first list of Congress candidates for 63 out of the 70 Vidhan Sabha constituencies was issued, supporters of Navin Bisht looking for a ticket from Dehradun Cantt constituency and Aryendra Sharma hoping to be fielded by the Congress from Sahaspur constituency vented their ire on all the prominently displayed banners and hoardings which were removed, shredded, broken and stamped upon by supporters of the disappointed ticket hopefuls. Navin Bisht, who was also present with his demonstrating supporters said that the youth will play a deciding role in the election, a factor which the party should also keep in mind. On the other hand, Sharma reportedly stated that he would file nomination to contest the election as an independent candidate from Sahaspur, though the politician could not be reached to affirm the statement attributed to him.
Meanwhile, the supporters of the disappointed ticket hopefuls demonstrated at the Congress Bhawan with much sloganeering targeting both the chief minister Harish Rawat and the PCC chief Kishore Upadhyay.
They said that injustice had been done by the party leadership by not allotting ticket to their leaders who had both been active in their respective constituencies and claimed to be confident of a positive result had they been named as the party candidates. The police reached the site and limited its role mostly to observing the scene, containing it within the area it was taking place in and to prevent any major untoward incident or violation of the law from taking place. With the mob of supporters of the party leaders not named in the candidates list tearing the banners, breaking hoardings and also tearing down the large-size poster picture of party vice president Rahul Gandhi, the violent part simmered down to sloganeering after which talks were held and various claims made by leaders and supporters.