The Bharatiya Janata Party released the second list of its candidates on Wednesday naming its contenders from nine Assembly constituencies. The sitting MLA of Yamkeshkar and daughter of former chief minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, Reetu Bhushan Khanduri has been fielded from Kotdwar Assembly constituency, Shaila Rani Rawat from Kedarnath, Muneesh Saini from Piran Kaliyar, Pramod Nainwal from Ranikhet, Mohan Singh Mehra from Jageshwar and Jogendrapal Singh Routela from Haldwani. The Rudrapur sitting MLA Rajkumar Thukral has not been given another chance as the party has fielded its district head, Shiv Arora while in Jhabrera constituency, the sitting MLA Deshraj Karnwal too has not been given another chance with the party fielding Rajpal Singh instead of him. In Lalkuan, Mohan Singh Bisht has been fielded instead of the sitting MLA Naveen Chandra Dumka.
The party’s choice of candidates in its second list has given rise to dissent in the party with the Rudrapur MLA resigning from primary membership of the party. In his letter to the BJP state president, Thukral said that some elements had orchestrated a conspiracy to ensure that he is not given the party ticket to contest the election from the constituency. He has decided to contest the election as an independent candidate while at the same time reiterating his deep bond with the BJP. The Tehri MLA Dhan Singh Negi also left the BJP and joined the Congress on Thursday.
