Former Uttarakhand CM Koshiyari resigns from Rajya Sabha

He was elected Raajya Sabha member only a few months back, said senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi during a press conference at party headquarters in New Delhi [ Images ].

Interestingly, Naqvi and senior MP Thavar Chand Gehlot visited Uttarakhand [ Images ] when there was an uprising against Chief Minister Bhuvan Chand Khandori, after BJP lost all the five Lok Sabha seats to Congress party.

"Rajnath Singh would be meeting Koshiyari soon and hold talks with him," Naqvi said. Rajnath and Koshiyari are both Thakurs by caste. Naqvi denied that this factor would bolster Koshiyari's chances of replacing Khandoori as the CM of the state.

"I have not met any senior leader in last twenty four hours. It may happen that I might meet senior leaders. I am here (in New Delhi) till the national executive," Koshiyari told rediff.com. He is currently camping in New Delhi with his supporters.

Ramesh Pokhriyal and twenty other MLAs have lent support to Koshiyari. Senior BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh, Jaswant Singh [ Images ], Yashwant Sinha [ Images ] and Dr Murali Manohar Joshi [ Images ] have joined hands to pulls down chief minister Bhuvan Chand Khandori.

By resigning from Rajya Sabha Koshiyari has added fuel to the fire. Meanwhile, Naqvi confirmed that former BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley [ Images ] may not attend the national executive. "There is no whip and 10 per cent leaders normally do not come," Naqvi said.