UKD (P), Left reach pact over 14 seats

Panwar names candidates for Lansdowne, Tehri despite Left objection

Dehradun, January 2
The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Progressive) and the Left parties, the CPI and the CPM, have reached an understanding over 14 seats for the coming Assembly elections in the state. The UKD (P) has announced its candidates for 12 seats whereas the CPI and the CPM announced four seats (two each) they would contest. They would announce the names of the candidates for these seats later as they wanted to consult their party leaderships before making the names public. Both the sides will make announcement about more seats on Thursday where the Left is likely to get six more seats.

It was on two seats of Lansdowne and Tehri the differences between both the sides remained unresolved. President of the UKD (P) Trivender Singh Panwar overlooked the concern of the leaders of the Left parties, Samar Bhandari, state secretary of the CPI, and Vijay Rawat, state secretary of the CPM, and announced his candidates for these two seats, despite the left objection to this.

Panwar could be seen sorting out the differences over the phone with the leaders of the Left parties even before the presence of media persons whom he had called to announce the seats at a joint press conference. The Left leaders were not ready to come to the conference without sorting out the matter. But, when Panwar said he would announce his party’s seats today and they could announce theirs tomorrow, the leaders of both the Left parties arrived in the conference room and asked for the list of the approved candidates jointly signed by Panwar and them. But Panwar managed to tackle them at the conference and did not produce the list.

Later, Samar Bhandari said they wanted the Tehri seat for themselves and the Lansdowne seat for TPS Rawat, president of the Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha (URM), which they still consider a part of the Uttarakhand United Regional Front (UURF).

Panwar believes that the URM is a part of the UURF. He has fielded AP Juyal, acting vice-president of the party, from Lansdowne.

Panwar has been saying that only the UKD, the CPI, the CPM and the Lok Vahini were the members of the UURF and the rest were out but the Left leaders have been insisting that no one has the power and right to expel members of the front.

Symbols aloted to UKD factions
Dehradun: The EC has alloted symbols to both factions of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD). The kite symbol has been alloted to the UKD (Democratic) and the symbol of cup-plate has been alloted to the UKD (Progressive).