‘Sad, hurt’: Harish Rawat on ‘downfall’ of expelled Cong leader Kishore Upadhyay

Earlier in the day, Kishore Upadhyay, who was expelled from the Congress party for “anti-party” activities, joined the BJP. He said that he made the move with the “spirit of taking Uttarakhand forward.”

Veteran Congress leader and former chief minister of Uttarakhand Harish Rawat said on Thursday that he is “sad” and “hurt” to witness the downfall of expelled party leader Kishore Upadhyay.

Congress has fielded former chief minister Harish Rawat from Lalkuan constituency after initially fielding him Ramnagar for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttarakhand. (PTI)

His remarks come only hours after Upadhyay joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “I am sad. I am hurt to see such a downfall of him,” Rawat told news agency ANI.

On Wednesday, Congress expelled its former Uttarakhand chief Upadhyay for indulging in “anti-party” activities. In a letter, party's in-charge of the northern hill state, Devendra Yadav, said that Upadhyay has been removed from the party for six years with immediate effect.

Upadhyay was recently removed from all the posts of Congress as a disciplinary action, and he reportedly wanted a revocation of the order.

Earlier in the day, the expelled leader joined the saffron camp, saying that the move was made with the “spirit of taking Uttarakhand forward.” “You should ask [the] Congress why such a situation has risen,” he added.

According to reports, the new BJP inductee is likely to contest the upcoming Uttarakhand assembly elections from Tehri constituency.

The BJP has so far released 68 names of candidates for the 70 constituencies of the Uttarakhand assembly. It is yet to field candidates from Tehri and Doiwala seats.

Meanwhile, in a surprise move on Wednesday, Congress shifted Rawat from Ramnagar constituency to Lalkuan in Nainital district, after releasing its third list of candidates for the forthcoming Uttarakhand polls. The former chief minister was first fielded from Ramnagar constituency but has now replaced Sandhya Dalakoti, who was earlier named from Lalkuan. Furthermore, Rawat's daughter, Anupama Rawa, has been fielded from Haridwar Rural segment.

Uttarakhand assembly elections will take place on February 14, and the counting of votes will be held on March 10.