Dehradun: Former BJP leader and Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat, who was expelled from both cabinet and party membership on Saturday, is likely to join Congress on Tuesday. This comes just weeks before the assembly elections in the hill state.
The leader was expelled for six years for indiscipline. The decision was taken by BJP's Uttarakhand core committee meeting in Delhi on Saturday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and state poll in-charge Prahlad Joshi were also present in the meeting.
However, sources say Congress is willing to give only one ticket to Harak Singh Rawat. Rawat was putting pressure on the BJP top brass to give tickets to himself, his daughter-in-law Anukriti Gosain and one of his supporters in the upcoming assembly polls.
State Congress, however, seems divided over his induction into the party.
Head of the Congress campaign committee and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat said “anyone who wants to return to the Congress must first apologise” for leaving the party. In March 2016, he along with nine Congress MLAs had switched sides and joined the BJP. A section of the party is keen on taking him back and pitching him against former BJP Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat from the Doiwala constituency.
The state is scheduled to go for polls on February 14th.