(T.E.T)
The Congress on Saturday released its first list of 53 candidates for the Uttarakhand assembly elections.
Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal will contest from the Srinagar seat and Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly Pritam Singh from the Chakrata (ST) constituency.
The names of former chief minister Harish Rawat and Harak Singh Rawat, who joined the party only on Friday, did not figure in the first candidate list of the party.
Harish Rawat had unsuccessfully contested the Haridwar-Rural and Kichcha assembly seats in the 2017 assembly polls.
Yashpal Arya, a former Speaker in the state assembly, who had recently joined the Congress after quitting the BJP, has been fielded from his Bajpur-SC constituency.
Arya’s son Sanjeev Arya has also been fielded from the Nainital (SC) assembly seat, which he quit after resigning from the BJP along with his father.
Sumit Hridayesh, the son of senior Congress leader Indira Hridayesh who died in June last year, has been fielded from Haldwani assembly seat.
Elections will be held for 70 assembly seats in Uttarakhand on February 14 and the results will be declared on March 10.
The Congress is seeking to wrest power back from the BJP in the hill state.
Manoj Rawat, the sitting MLA from Kedarnath assembly seat, has been fielded once again by the party.
Sitting MLA Mamta Rakesh has been fielded from her Bhagwanpur-SC assembly constituency.
The Congress has also fielded its sitting MLAs Furkan Ahmad from Pirankaliyar, Qazi Mohd Nizamuddin
The Congress has also fielded its sitting MLAs Furkan Ahmad from Pirankaliyar, Qazi Mohd Nizamuddin from Manglore, Karan Mahara from Ranikhet, Govind Singh Kunjwal from Jageshwar and Adesh Singh Chauhan from Jaspur.
Surendra Singh Negi, a former MLA from Kotdwar assembly seat, has been fielded once again from the seat. Negi has been a former minister in the state. Jeet Ram has been fielded from Tharali (SC) seat, which he lost in the 2017 polls.
Malchand, who lost the 2017 assembly polls on a BJP ticket, has been fielded by the Congress this time from the same Purola (SC) seat.
Vijaypal Singh Sajwan, who had lost the Gangotri seat in 2017 assembly elections, has been fielded from the same constituency this time.
