Maharaja146;s son stakes claim to Tehri

Bypoll for the LS seat to coincide with Assembly elections in the state on February 21

The Congress hopes of capturing the Tehri Lok Sabha seat received a jolt today after Manujendra Shah, son of late MP and Maharaja of the erstwhile state of Tehri Manvendra Shah, staked claim to the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP nomination from the seat.

The Tehri Lok Sabha seat fell vacant following the death of sitting MP Manvendra Shah. The bypolls for the seat would be held along with the Assembly elections in the state on February 21. 8220;I would be going to Delhi to stake claim to the BJP nomination from the seat which my father represented for so long,8221; Manujendra Shah told mediapersons.

Maharaja Manvendra Shah, known as 8216;Bolanda Badri8217; living incarnation of Lord Vishnu represented Tehri eight times. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1957 as a Congress nominee and was re-elected in 1962 and 1967. Except once in 1971, he never lost Lok Sabha elections from Tehri Garhwal.

After a brief recess, he came back to electoral politics in 1991and was re-elected as a BJP nominee in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004.

Vijay Bahuguna, son of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister H N Bahuguna, the probable Congress nominee who lost twice to the Maharaja may find it difficult to wrest the seat from the BJP with anti-incumbency within the party.

Interestingly, the announcement of the bypoll came at a time when Bahuguna was planning to contest the Assembly polls from Doiwala segment in Dehradun. Bahuguna, a former high court judge is yet to score an electoral victory in his political career.

Manujendra Shah, a graduate from St Stephens College, Delhi, runs a steel factory and had not been involved in active politics. However, his wife had helped his father-in-law during election campaigns.

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The Congress, with many issues like the Tehri Dam rehabilitation plaguing them, is keeping its spirits high.

8220;We will win the Tehri Lok Sabha seat this time since the Maharaja, considered a living god, is not there. The performance of the state government would also help us,8221; claimed Congress spokesperson Surender Aggarwal.