The election results are still a month away, but trouble has already started brewing for the BJP in Uttarakhand. Former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, accused of trying to sabotage the party’s prospects in nearly 15 Assembly berths, including chief minister B.C. Khanduri’s seat, is running from pillar to post to offer clarifications. Mr Nishank, now camping in New Delhi, met party president Nitin Gadkari, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley to clarify his position.
Sources said the party leadership had questioned Mr Nishank after getting reports that he was involved in anti-party activities, including supporting rebels against the party’s official candidates. It is alleged that Mr Nishank and his loyalists supported Mr Khanduri’s main rival, Congress candidate S.S. Negi, in Kotdwar. Mr Nishank, however, told the BJP top brass that attempts were being made by some party leaders to make him a scapegoat in case the party failed to retain power in the hill state, sources said. He also denied being involved in anti-party activities or backing party rebels contesting in some major Assembly segments as Independents. Mr Nishank had earlier been forced to resign as CM over corruption charges.
While the BJP is still hopeful of retaining power, political observers say corruption charges and the anti-incumbency factor against the BJP cannot be ruled out. The state, which has 70 Assembly constituencies, went to the polls on January 30.
Ahead of the polls, the BJP had expelled around 160 members, including four sitting MLAs — K.S. Fonia, Raj Kumar, G.L. Shah and Anil Nautiyal — for anti-party activities. The party, which fielded over 30 new faces, faced a crisis after some of these rebels contested against party candidates. In Chamoli district, all three seats were contested by BJP rebel candidates. From Badrinath, former minister and party rebel K.S. Fonia stood for election. Similarly, G.L. Shah contested from Tharali while Anil Nautiyal stood from Karanprayag. Both are considered Nishank loyalists.