Two sitting BJP MPs out of the race in Uttarakhand. Three sitting MPs to repeat. Names of Rawat n Bhatt finalised ?

Though the BJP’s candidate selection committee’s meeting is in progress in Delhi and the party has not yet released the names of the prospective official candidates but the inside reliable sources reveal that two sitting member of parliaments’ tickets are being changed.

Both of them has crossed 75 years of age obviously non other but retired major general BC Khanduri from Pauri Garhwal and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari from Nainital.

Though both of them are sitting MPs they are the former state chief ministers as well. While retired Major general BC Khanduri who’d crossed eighty years of age had already expressed his inability to contest due to poor health, Bhagat Singh Koshiayari was not in a mood to retire. However, this news has not been officially confirmed.

Sources reveal that while the BJP has okayed the candidature of BJP’s national secretary Tirath Singh Rawat from Pauri Garhwal constituency against the candidature of sitting MP Khanduri, the state party chief Ajay Bhatt’s name has been cleared from Nainital seat in lieu of the sitting veteran ( MP) Bhagat Singh Koshiayari.

According to sources, from rest of the three Lok Sabha constituencies of Uttarakhand viz Almora, Haridwar n Tehri Garhwal, the three sitting MPs’ name(s) have been finalised maintaining the status quo. They are union state minister for Textiles Ajay Tamta, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Maharani Lakshmi Shah.

It was being said that the BJP high command had cleared the earlier bottleneck forbidding the over 75 year old MPs or MLAs from contesting polls but denying opportunity for recontest to Koshiyari from Nainital is like stabbing him from the back as the latter carries behind him a good n transparent reputation as a true son of the soil, hailing from a protracted RSS background having dedicated his entire life to the RSS n BJP.

It is believed that both Tirath Singh Rawat and state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt have been rewarded not only for their unstinted loyalty for the party but also for exhibiting immense patience despite both of them not given MLA ticket last time during the assembly elections of 2017.

Both had stood with the party in its thick n thin and worked hard to strengthen the BJP in the state as well as during the previous assembly election when the saffron party sought 57 seats reducing the Congress party to negligible minority in the state.

It is believed that the list of the candidates would be out either midnight or tomorrow afternoon.

Sources reveal that Bhagat Singh Koshiyari is using his best possible efforts to ensure his repetition n hopes that he will definitely be honoured with the second chance.

There are also rumours that his name can be considered for governor of any state in case the BJP returns to power at the centre in case he is left out of the race this time.

Meanwhile the Congress has not officially opened its cards as its waiting for the BJP to declare the list first.

However, speculations are rife that names of Harish Rawat, (.Nainital) Pradeep Tamta, ( Almora) Manish Khanduri, ( Pauri) Kishore Upadhyay, ( Tehri) n Pritam Singh ( Haridwar) have been cleared.