Harak Singh Rawat may join Congress today. Know why he was expelled from the BJP
The decision to dismiss Rawat from the cabinet was taken during the core group meeting of BJP's Uttarakhand unit, which was held at the party's headquarters in Delhi on Saturday.
Harak Singh Rawat, who was dismissed from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Uttarakhand on Saturday, is likely to join the Congress party today, news agency ANI reported. This comes just weeks before the assembly elections in the hill state.
Rawat, a BJP MLA, was also expelled from the BJP for six years over indiscipline.
The decision to dismiss Rawat from the cabinet was taken during the core group meeting of BJP's Uttarakhand unit, which was held at the party's headquarters in Delhi on Saturday.
The meeting was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, state-poll in-charge Pralhad Joshi among others.
Why was Harak Singh Rawat expelled?
Harak Singh Rawat was not toeing the line of BJP, and repeatedly created issues in the last five years, Hindustan Times' sister publication Livehindustan reported.
There was also a displeasure among the grassroot workers of the BJP against him, according to Livehindustan. The workers were unhappy over excessive attention given to the leaders who joined the BJP from Congress along with Rawat.
Rawat had recently left a cabinet meeting where chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was present. The reason for his displeasure was the lack of proposal for Kotdwar Medical College at that time though experts say he was demanding a ticket for his daughter-in-law from Lansdowne seat, according to Livehindustan.
'Rawat is angry'
News agency ANI cited a close aide of Rawat to report that he has been putting pressure on the BJP top brass to give tickets to himself, his daughter-in-law Anukriti Gosain and one of his supporters in the upcoming assembly polls.
“Harak Singh Rawat and his daughter-in-law have left for Delhi. Rawat is angry because Anukriti Gusain is not getting a ticket,” a close aide of Rawat told ANI.
The aide further said that both Rawat and Gusain can join Congress if the latter does not get a BJP ticket.
BJP's tough message
The decision to remove Harak Singh Rawat is being seen as a strong message from the BJP. By sacking Rawat, the BJP has made it clear that it is not going to come under any pressure now.
Rawat, who had threatened to resign in the cabinet meeting recently, was also in constant touch with Congress leaders.
In December last year, Rawat had quit the Uttarakhand cabinet and threatened to resign from the BJP, but stayed after talks with party leaders. He had been pressuring the state government to fulfill his demands.
Harak Singh Rawat came to BJP five years ago after rebelling from Congress.
