Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: After gaining a thin edge over the ruling BJP, the Uttarakhand Congress leaders will on Wednesday meet party president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the future course of action after no party got a clear majority in the closely contested elections to the 70-member assembly.
According to reports, state unit chief of the party Yashpal Arya, , Vijay Bahuguna and other leaders will meet the Congress president at her 10, Janpath residence at around 11.30 am.
During the meeting, the name of a decision on who will be the next chief minister of the state will also be taken.
The Congress delegation will then return to Uttarakhand and meet again in the evening where the party high command’s decision will be conveyed to those attending the meeting of the Congress Legislative Party.
Congress leaders yesterday called on Governor Margaret Alva to formally stake the claim to form a new government.
State Congress spokesman Surendra Kumar said the delegation was led by the party`s election in-charge Chaudhary Birendra Singh. PCC Chief Yashpal Arya and Lok Sabha MP Vijay Bahuguna were also in the delegation, he said.
Meanwhile, the BJP leaders of the state will be joined by their senior colleagues from Delhi today when they also meet to decide their future strategy.
The Congress yesterday emerged as the single largest party in Uttarakhand with 32 members, a notch ahead of the BJP’s 31 in the 70-member assembly.
The hung assembly has triggered hectic political negotiations as both the parties have staked claim to form the new government in the hill state where Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and other smaller parties have together bagged seven seats.
Their support will hold the key to government formation to help either of the big parties cross the simple majority mark of 35.
