Former Uttarakhand CM's son joins Congress

Dehradun, Mar 16: Manish Khanduri, the son of former Uttarakhand CM and BJP leader Maj Gen (Retd) BC Khanduri, joined s Congress party in presence of party president Rahul Gandhi in Dehradun on Saturday.

Manish Khanduri, who is a former journalist and has worked with social media platform Facebook, is learnt to have met Gandhi recently.

Khanduri said, "I believe that under Rahul Gandhi's leadership, Congress will make country stronger. Before coming here,I sought blessings of my father. He asked me if I can walk on path of truth, I said, 'yes'."

Khanduri Sr is a sitting Lok Sabha member from Pauri, from where the Congress is expected to field his son this time. Khaduri Sr is reportedly unhappy with the BJP leadership of late, as there has been a controversy over his term as chairman of Standing Committee of Defence not being extended.

Manish's sister Ritu Khanduri is a BJP legislator from Yamkeshwar seat which falls in Pauri Lok Sabha, the family's bastion. In the 2014 elections, she had won with a margin of over 20,000 votes.

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri and senior BJP leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, also a former Chief Minister, from the state have expressed his inability to contest 2019 Lok Sabha elections.