Veteran congress leader ND Tiwari and son join BJP

New Delhi: BJP today received an shot in the arm ahead of the Assembly polls in Uttarakhand, when veteran Congress leader and former state Chief Minister Naryan Dutt Tiwari and his son Rohit Shekhar joined the party here. Both Mr Tiwari and his son met BJP president Amit Shah at his residence and joined the party. Mr Tiwari was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for three times and was one-time CM of Uttarakhand.

The 91-year-old veteran leader also held many important portfolios during Congress governments at the Centre. He was also the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and is a renowned leader of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is expected that the party is likely to give ticket to Rohit Shekar from the hill state. BJP hopes that the induction of former Chief Minister and his son will give a boost to party's prospects in the Kumaon region.

The party on January 16 had released the first list of 64 candidates for the 70-seat Uttarakhand Assembly. The state will go for single-phase polling on February 15 and notification will be issued on January 20. Nominations could be filed by January 27, while scrutiny of papers would be held on January 30 and the nominations could be withdrawn by February 1. (UNI)