Two independents in fray are active members of BJP: Rawat

Chief Minister Harish Rawat today alleged that the two Independents who entered the fray for the Rajya Sabha poll from Uttarakhand were from BJP, and termed it as an "assault" on established norms by the saffron party.
"First, BJP went on record saying it will not field any candidate and then it fielded two active party members as Independents. It is another assault by BJP on established norms," Rawat told reporters here, soon after Congress nominee Pradeep Tamta filed his nomination.
"Their first assault on the norms was when they engineered defections in Congress. Their second assault is this," he said.

AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik, who was here as party observer, said it showed BJP's "dual character".
"First declaring that it won't contest and then entering the fray from the back door. It shows the party's dual character," Wasnik said.
However, both Rawat and Wasnik said they were confident of Tamta's victory.

The two Independents who filed their nomination today are Gita Thakur and Anil Goel who are said to have close links with the BJP.
Mahanagar BJP president Umesh Aggarwal confirmed that they had been party workers, but said they have not been assigned any official responsibility by the party at present.

Earlier in the day, BJP Chief Whip in the state Assembly Madan Kaushik said the party will not nominate anyone for the seat as it did not have the numbers.
However, he said the party might consider giving support to an Independent if approached.