Uttarakhand Congress chief calls for 'one family, one ticket' rule

Congress Uttarakhand chief Kishore Upadhyay on Wednesday said the party should allow only one person from a family to contest in the state assembly polls next year.

Dehradun, Dec 21: Congress Uttarakhand chief Kishore Upadhyay on Wednesday said the party should allow only one person from a family to contest in the state assembly polls next year.

"There are too many contenders for party tickets. We want that only person in a family should get ticket otherwise it will be an injustice to other Congressmen," he told reporters here. Uttarakhand's Chief Minister Harish Rawat's two sons, Anand and Virendra, and daughter Anupama are among the main ticket contenders in the party.

State's Finance Minister Indira Hridayesh's son Sumit and Irrigation Minister Yashpal Arya's son Sanjeev are also vying for tickets. Upadhyay and Rawat are at variance over the ruling alliance partner Progressive Democratic Front (PDF). The PCC chief has made it clear that Congress will contest on all 70 seats in the Uttarakhand assembly polls, while Rawat favours continuation of the alliance with PDF.

Two-time MLA Upadhyay wants to contest from Tehri, while Rawat is in the favour of sitting PDF MLA and Tourism minister Dinesh Dhanai. Two day ago party's Uttarakhand unit in charge Ambika Soni had also indicated that the party can go for a tie-up with PDF for contesting February 2017 polls.

"We cannot leave PDF as it has been a long-time supporter of Congress," she told a press conference on Monday while avoiding clear response on queries about Congress going solo on all 70 Assembly seats.

PTI