Dehradun: Day after Uttarakhand Congress Working President Ranjit Rawat accused fellow party leader and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat of “selling” party tickets in the recently concluded Assembly elections, the latter said, "He prays to God that Congress should expel me from the party”.
On Monday, Ranjit Rawat levelled allegations against Harish Rawat saying he “sold tickets in the elections” in which the Congress won only 19 of the 70 seats. Both Ranjit and Harish Rawat lost their seats of Ramnagar and Lalkuan respectively. Ranjit blamed Harish Rawat for the party's defeat in both seats.
Read: Harish Rawat takes responsibility for Uttarakhand polls, calls Punjab result 'surprising'
“His manager has returned some people's money,” he alleged. Harish Rawat while reacting to the allegations said, “I pray to God that Congress should expel me from the party”. The already strained relations between the two leaders, turned sour during the Assembly elections when both wanted to contest polls from the Ramnagar seat. Harish Rawat had to later back off after directions by the Congress top brass.
The acrimony between the veteran Congress leaders has come as a surprise as the two have shared cordial relations in the past. In 2014, when Harish Rawat became the Chief Minister after the removal of Vijay Bahuguna, Ranjit Rawat used to call the shots. However, things changed during the 2017 Assembly elections after which Ranjit has been taking potshots at Harish Rawat.
