Uttarakhand CM asks UKD to withdraw from fray against his son

Ruling Congress in Uttarakhand on Tuesday asked its ally Uttarakhand Kranti Dal to withdraw from the fray for the October 10 Tehri Lok Sabha bypoll in which Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna's son is a candidate.

Addressing a slew of campaign meetings to seek votes for his son Saket Bahuguna in Uttarkashi district, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna accused UKD of not following the coalition dharma by fielding a candidate from the seat against the Congress nominee.

"UKD gave support to our government and we gave it a ministerial berth. Now it is time for our ally to return the gesture by withdrawing its nominee from Tehri," the Chief Minister said.

UKD president Trivendra Singh Panwar has filed nomination to conetst the poll from the prestigious seat which fell vacant after the Chief Minister resigned from it in the wake of his victory from Sitarganj assembly constituency.

Tomorrow is the last date for withdrawals.

UKD MLA from Yamunotri Pritam Singh Panwar is the minister for Urban Development in the Bahuguna government.

The Chief Minister also promised to the electorate that an OBC degree college will soon be set up and all basic infrastructure-related problems like roads, bridges and power plaguing the area will be sorted out soon after the bypoll.

Earlier, addressing the meetings, Saket Bahuguna sought votes for himself in the name of development.

"If elected I will have a chance to serve you only for 16 months as the general elections are due in 2014. You can make your choice on the basis of my performance during the next 16 months," he said.

Saket, who chucked a job with a leading MNC in Delhi to join politics, promised to generate employment opportunities by luring entrepreneurs to invest in Tehri.