Congress leader Harish Rawat  |  Photo Credit: ANI
Dehradun, Uttarakhand: Congress leader Harish Rawat on Friday said that the names of all the candidates have been finalised for the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttarakhand.
Congress Screening Committee held deliberations candidates for 70 constituencies in Uttarakhand Assembly elections today. The names will be presented before the Central Election Committee (CEC), said Rawat.
“The discussion was held on 70 seats and almost all names have been finalised based on merits of the candidates. Tomorrow we’ll present the names before Central Election Committee (CEC),” he said.
Earlier on Friday, Rawat had indicated that he wasn’t keen to contest the assembly polls this time. “The final decision is with the CEC but I’m not keen to contest. Rather I want to make sure that other leaders contest and I take charge of the election campaign,” the former Uttarakhand CM had said.
The polling for the assembly election in Uttarakhand will take place in a single phase on February 14. The counting of votes will take place on March 10, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI) schedule.
The term of the current assembly elected in 2017 will expire on March 23, 2022.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party are the main contenders of the Assembly elections in the Himalayan state. Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also entered the poll fray.
In the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly elections, the BJP-led alliance had won 57 seats, while Congress-plus had managed to win just 11 seats. The independent candidates managed to grab two seats in the state elections.