Uttarakhand assembly polls: BJP, Congress leaders persuade 95 rebel candidates to withdraw nominations

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], February 1 : Many rebels from both Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress withdrew their nomination on Monday as party veterans managed to persuade them to withdraw in support of the party's official candidates ahead of Uttarakhand polls, said sources.
As per Joint Chief Electoral Officer Pratap Singh Shah, around 95 candidates from 70 assembly seats withdrew their names on the last date for withdrawal of nomination which was Monday.
"Now a total of 632 candidates on 70 assembly seats in Uttarakhand will contest the election," Shah said.
A maximum number of 117 candidates are contesting elections from Dehradun district while the lowest number is from Champawat and Bageshwar seat where 14 candidates each will be contesting elections.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate Vinod Chamoli will continue to face a challenge from rebel Birsingh Panwar from Dehradun's Dharampur assembly in these polls.
Uttarakhand is slated to go to the Assembly polls on February 14 and the counting of the votes will take place on March 10.