BJP’s Uttarakhand List Reeks of ‘Dynastic Politics’: Harish Rawat

The list includes former Congress leader Amrita Rawat’s husband Satpal Maharaj and Yashpal and Sanjeev Arya.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat. (Photo: PTI)

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said on 17 January that the BJP's first list of candidates for the state "promotes dynastic politics". He said that the list includes defectors against whom the saffron party had previously levelled corruption charges against.

Rawat said he was surprised to note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stern public posturing against dynastic politics had conveniently been ignored by his own party.

"The Prime Minister advises partymen to stay away from promoting dynastic politics whereas his own party's list of candidates for Uttarakhand seems to promote the malaise," Rawat told reporters in Dehradun.

Also Read: A Divided House? BJP Hints It Won’t Declare CM Face In Uttarakhand

The party’s first list of 64 candidates includes former chief minister BC Khanduri’s daughter Ritu Khanduri Bhushan, former CM Vijay Bahuguna’s son Saurabh, Congress turncoat Amrita Rawat’s husband Satpal Maharaj besides the father-son duo of Yashpal Arya and Sanjeev Arya who joined the BJP hours before the party announced their candidature.

Without naming Arya, Rawat said it was surprising that the party had rewarded someone with two tickets within "four hours of taking him into the party".

Referring to the Congress turncoats fielded by the BJP, he said they were the same leaders on whom the party had slapped charges like the disaster scam, the seed scam, the land scam, the polyhouse scam, the mining scam in Dabka and Kosi rivers, depositing huge amount in demonetised currency in cooperative banks, and stalling Vidhan Sabha proceedings for 12 days.

It is strange that the same leaders are now running the BJP in Uttarakhand.

Harish Rawat, Chief Minister, Uttarakhand