Uttarakhand: All eyes now on 'group of nine Congress rebels'

After the return of former minister Yashpal Arya to Congress this week, all eyes are now on the 'group of nine Congress rebels' who, like Arya, had joined the BJP before the 2017 assembly elections in Uttarakhand.
This group of then nine Congress MLAs, headed by former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, had revolted against the then Congress government headed by Harish Rawat in 2016 and joined the BJP.

While a few of them are now well settled in BJP, some others seem to be keeping their options open. They are reportedly seeking assurance on tickets for the upcoming assembly election from both BJP and Congress to decide their next move, people aware of the developments told ET.

The rebel leaders included Subodh Uniyal, Pradeep Batra, Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion, Rekha Arya, Umesh Sharma, Amrita Rawat, Shailendra Mohan Singhal, and Shaila Rani Rawat, besides Bahuguna.

All the nine leaders were rewarded with BJP tickets for contesting the 2017 assembly polls.

Five of them won the polls. So did Bahuguna's son Saurabh Bahuguna and Amrita Rawat's husband Satpal Maharaj who had joined BJP in 2014 after leaving Congress. Two - Shaila Rani Rawat and Singhal - lost the election.

While some of them may be contemplating a return to the Congress fold, political observers said it would not be easy. For one, the group does not have a representative leader unlike in the past, and, two, Harish Rawat has made his animosity to them public.