RS berth: Congress sticks to Tamta, fingers crossed

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 30

Amid objections by ally PDF, the Congress today indicated it would go with Pradeep Tamta as its Rajya Sabha nominee and said all was well with the coalition in Uttarakhand.

“The Congress and the PDF will have one candidate. We are on the verge of resolving the issue,” Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said today after meeting Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Asked is the party could agree to PDF’s demand of fielding Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai as the RS candidate instead of Tamta, he aid, “We are sure of PDF’s continued support. I can assure you that the Congress and the PDF will have one candidate tomorrow.” Asked if a review of Tamta’s candidature was possible, he said, “That is up to Soniaji.”

Even as Rawat put up a brave face on the eve of the last date of filing of nominations for the June 11 Rajya Sabha poll, party insiders acknowledged that tensions arel running high. “We are keeping our fingers crossed,” said a senior leader.

But even by the end of today, no formal assurance had been given to the Congress camp by the six member PDF grouping which had given Rawat a lease of life in the recent floor test. Privately, some Congress leaders said they were wary of the BJP fielding its candidate tomorrow.

The lone RS seat from Uttarakhand has been vacated by BJP’s Tarun Vijay. The Congress candidate needs 29 MLAs to win the RS seat. It has 27 of its own.