Uttarakhand CM’s Name Not in Panel of BJP’s Six Potential Candidates for Salt Bypoll

The Uttarakhand BJP on Saturday constituted a panel of six potential candidates for the party’s central board to choose from for the by-election to be held in Salt assembly constituency on April 17, excluding Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat. After a meeting of the state BJP core group here, party’s state unit president Madan Kaushik told reporters that based on a survey of a three-member committee, formed under the leadership of Cabinet Minister Yashpal Arya for the Salt bypoll, the party has prepared a panel of six names which will be sent to the central leadership on Sunday.

He said the party’s Central Parliamentary Board will decide on the name of one of these six candidates for the bypoll. Kaushik refused to disclose the names but said the name of Chief Minister Rawat was not included in the panel.

The seat had fallen vacant after BJP MLA Surendra Singh Jeena died of COVID-19 last year in November. The BJP state chief said while filling the nomination papers of the candidate, Chief Minister Rawat and he himself will be present there.

He exuded confidence that the BJP would win the bypoll by a large margin.