Summary:
Dehradun, Oct 14 (PTI) An impressive programme will be held in Haldwani on October 18 to felicitate former cabinet minister Yashpal Arya and his son Sanjeev who recently joined the Congress ahead of next year"s assembly polls. The programme will virtually be a show of strength by Arya who is a prominent Dalit leader with a strong support base in both Kumaon and Garhwal regions. Over two dozen Arya loyalists who wield considerable political clout in Nainital and Bheemtal assembly constituencies are likely to join the Congress at the felicitation ceremony, party sources said. Bajpur MLA Arya along with his son Sanjeev, who had won from Nainital on a BJP ticket in 2017, joined the Congress on October 11 in Delhi. Arya"s return is being seen as a shot in the arm for the party which is angling for the decisive Dalit votes in the 13 reserved SC constituencies of the state in the next assembly polls. Eight of these seats are located in Garhwal and five in Kumaon. The party had performed poorly on the seats in 2017 assembly polls winning only two of them. Meanwhile, the Congress claimed that more BJP members will cross over to the party in the near future. "This is just a trailer...
The actual film is yet to release," Pradesh Congress president Ganesh Godiyal said. Barring a couple of exceptions, the Congress is in touch with all the rebels who had joined the BJP ahead of 2017 assembly polls, said a source in the Pradesh Congress Committee requesting anonymity.
PTI ALM RHL.