Congress Releases First Candidate List in Uttarakhand to Protests

Harish Rawat, Uttarakhand Chief Minister. A section of Congress workers, unhappy over the ticket distribution, vandalised the party office in Dehradun.  (Photo: PTI)

The Congress on Sunday released its first list of 63 candidates for the Uttarakhand assembly polls, triggering anger among some activists who vandalised the party office in Dehradun.

According to the list issued by All India Congress Committee, Chief Minister Harish Rawat will contest from two seats; Haridwar Rural and Kichha.

Most outgoing MLAs have been repeated by the Congress and a few defectors from other parties have also been given ticket. Suryakant Dhasmana, who was acquitted by the CBI court in 2012 in connection with killing one person and injuring two persons during the Uttarakhand movement, has been fielded from Dehradun Cantonment. State Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay will contest from Sahaspur.

Workers Vandalise Party Office in Dehradun

Congress workers and supporters vandalise party office after the names of 63 poll candidates were announced in Dehradun. They were angry at the distribution of poll tickets. (Photo: IANS)

A section of Congress workers, unhappy over the ticket distribution, vandalised the party office in Dehradun. The workers threw chairs, broke furniture, tore off posters and raised slogans against Upadhyaya and Chief Minister Rawat.

Rawat tried to play down the controversy, saying some hopefuls were unhappy they had not been fielded but "everyone who keeps working for the party" will get a chance in future. Elections in Uttarakhand are scheduled to be held on 15 February.