The fifth constituency of Uttarakhand — Almora — is a reserved seat from where it has already named sitting MP Pradeep Tamta. A release issued by permanent invitee CWC Oscar Fernandes on Wednesday confirmed the nominations of Renuka , Saket and also Harak Singh Rawat from Pauri Garhwal constituency.
In 2009, when Congress bagged all five LS seats in Uttarakhand it had three Thakurs — Satpal Maharaj, Harish Rawat and K C Singh Baba, one Brahmin — Vijay Bahuguna and Pradeep Tamta. According to sources there are about 45% Thakur voters followed by 20-22% Brahmins, 18% SC/ST and 14% voters from the minority community.
A party worker said, "There could not have been a better selection than this, as it is a win-win situation for the two factions. If Renuka got the ticket, Baba and Tamta are from Harish Rawat camp, whereas Bahuguna had been demanding a ticket for his son and the former chief minister's close aide Harak has been made nominee from Pauri."
Vijay Bahuguna had earlier announced that he would not contest the polls and had sought ticket for his son. Satpal Maharaj on March 21 left the Congress to join the BJP. Saket, who suffered a defeat in the 2012 Lok Sabha by-poll, said that the focus of his campaign would be on local issues and the work done by the Congress-led government at the centre and the state. "It is a fight between Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, who is a queen and Saket, who is a common man," he told TOI.
"She has failed to live up to the expectations of people and has rarely interacted with the masses since winning the by-election," he claimed
State minister and MLA from Rudraprayag, Harak Singh Rawat pointed out that Satpal Maharaj's exit before the LS elections will not have any impact on his campaign. "Being a MLA from the area, I have regular interaction with the local people and well aware of their problems," he said.
A Congress release on April 5 named Pradeep Tamta and KC Singh Baba as party candidates from Almora and Nainital seat, respectively.
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