Cliffhanger awaits Uttarakhand vote

New Delhi: It’s advantage Harish Rawat, sacked Uttarakhand chief minister, as both the Supreme Court and Uttarakhand high court on Monday rejected the rebel Congress MLAs’ plea challenging their disqualification.

Tension rose in the saffron camp and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his senior colleagues to discuss the latest situation. The Centre and the BJP, which unleashed an aggressive campaign to justify the imposition of President’s Rule in the state, will face major embarrassment if Mr Rawat wins the floor test on Tuesday. With nine Congress rebels disqualified from voting, the deposed Chief Minister appears to be ahead in the numbers game.

The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday dismissed the plea by the nine rebel MLAs challenging their disqualification. The MLAs then approached the Supreme Court, but the country’s highest court too upheld the High Court’s order and barred them from taking part in Tuesday’s trust vote.

Despite having an advantage, it remains to be seen if Mr Rawat, who was accused in yet another sting operation of trying to buy the support of legislators, will be able to hold his flock together.