)
After days of deliberations, the Congress high command is likely to declare its candidates on Monday for all the five seats in Uttarakhand.
The process of declaring the names of all five candidates had been delayed considerably in the hill state, especially after the resignation of senior leader Satpal Maharaj from the party and reluctance on the part of former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna to contest from Tehri. The party is facing stinging criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which had already declared all its five candidates on March 15.
The process of filing nominations will begin on April 12 in the hill state, where elections are to be held on May 7.
Unable to recover from the shock of the desertion by Maharaj, the Congress has been unable to finalise its candidates for Pauri, Tehri and Haridwar seats.
However, the party high command has put a seal of approval on the names of sitting members of Parliament K C Singh Bawa from Nainital and Pradip Tamta from Almora seats.
On the other hand, Congress is unable to decide who should contest from Tehri, Pauri and Haridwar seats.
Sources said Bahuguna wants his son Saket to try his luck from the Tehri seat. Saket lost to sitting MP Maharani Rajya Laxmi Shah in 2012 by-election after Bahuguna became the chief minister. "It is still a riddle whether Bahuguna will be able to use his influence this time to get ticket for his son," said a top Congress leader.
Chief Minister Harish Rawat also wants Bahuguna to contest from Tehri. This is because Rawat is eying on Sitarganj Assembly seat of Bahuguna in order to enter the vidhan sabha. "We want Bahuguna to win from Tehri and take bigger role in New Delhi," said another top Congress leader close to the Rawat group.
The party high command is unable to decide on Pauri seat also. Names like cabinet ministers Surendra Singh Negi and Harak Singh Rawat are doing the round. And from Haridwar, the Chief Minister wants the party ticket for his family members only. "Renuka (wife) is favourite from Haridwar seat, though Anupama (daughter) and Anand (son) also want tickets," said a senior party leader.
