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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Uttarakhand Congress leader Satpal Maharaj joins hands with BJP
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Uttarakhand Congress leader Satpal Maharaj joins hands with BJP

Maharaj says he is happy to join BJP and will work to make Narendra Modi the prime minister of the country

The BJP on Friday denied a Lok Sabha ticket to former union minister and veteran leader Jaswant Singh amid signs of a generational change in its leadership. Photo: MintPremium
The BJP on Friday denied a Lok Sabha ticket to former union minister and veteran leader Jaswant Singh amid signs of a generational change in its leadership. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: In a move that could derail the newly appointed government of chief minister Harish Rawat in Uttarakhand, ex-lawmaker and senior Congress leader from the state, Satpal Maharaj, joined the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday.

BJP leaders believe this is a coup against the ruling Congress party in Uttarakhand, and indicated that some Congress Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) could follow Maharaj and join the BJP in the coming weeks.

Maharaj, who won Lok Sabha elections in 1996 and 2009, said, “I am happy to join the BJP because the party has clear leadership under Narendra Modi. India will become a developed nation under Narendra Modi. Why should India not develop like China? I will work to make Modi prime minister of the country."

Maharaj said Congress governments both at the Centre and in Uttarakhand had failed to provide relief to people after floods hit Uttarakhand. “The Congress government has only given compensation to the people but failed to resettle and rehabilitate them," he added.

Annoyed by the delay in relief work by chief minister Vijay Bahuguna after the tragedy in Uttarakhand, the Congress leadership feared that it could affect the image of the party before the Lok Sabha election and replaced him with former union minister Harish Rawat in February. The decision to replace Bahuguna was supported by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Friday denied a Lok Sabha ticket to former union minister and veteran leader Jaswant Singh amid signs of a generational change in its leadership.

Singh had told the BJP leadership that the 2014 Lok Sabha election was his last and that he would prefer to contest from Barmer constituency in Rajasthan but the party named Sonaram Choudhary as the candidate from Barmer in its latest list of candidates released on Friday.

Choudhary was defeated by Jaswant Singh’s son Manvendra Singh in the 2004 Lok Sabha election from Barmer when Choudhary contested on a Congress ticket.

This time around Choudhary’s candidature was backed by Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

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Published: 21 Mar 2014, 11:47 PM IST
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