Uttarakhand civic polls today, can Congress put up a fight despite string of setbacks?

“The Congress’s defeat in the Kedarnath bypolls (in November last year) was a semi-final of the 2027 Assembly elections. This election will only prove that the Congress is not a major Opposition force in the state while our performance will pave the way for the 2027 Assembly polls. The Congress has been putting up a poor show in every election since 2014,” Uttarakhand BJP media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan told The Indian Express.

Buoyed by the Cabinet approval for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) days ahead of the local body polls, the party’s campaign led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has been revolving around bringing in a “triple engine government”. However, the move has provided the Congress ammunition to slam the state government for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The Congress has written to the State Election Commission over the issue and sought action against the BJP.

Apart from the UCC, the BJP has gone into the polls while raising issues like population rise and demographic change and has also pushed its Hindutva agenda by ordering the verification of “illegal madrasas” and calling for the Ramayana to be included in their syllabus.

At a rally following the Cabinet nod, Dhami said Uttarakhand will be the first state in the country to implement the UCC, thus ensuring “equal rights and responsibilities to its citizens”. The CM also claimed that his government has been taking strict action against forced religious conversions, riots, land jihad and “thook jihad”.

Terming the Congress as “anti-Hindu” and accusing it of resorting to “appeasement politics”, Manveer said, “The Congress’s statements demonstrate its alliance with those plotting to alter the region’s demographics.”

Thursday’s polls, where voting will take place through ballot papers across 1,515 polling centres and 3,394 polling booths, will be held for 11 municipal corporations, 43 municipal councils and 46 nagar panchayats. A total of 72 candidates are in the fray mayoral polls while 445 are vying for the posts of municipal council chairpersons. Over 4,000 candidates are in the fray to become councillors.

State BJP president Mahendra Bhatt also exuded confidence of victory and citing the party’s move to release a manifesto for the local body polls, emphasised the importance that it is giving to the upcoming elections. “We have shown people how committed we are towards them and their issues. However, the Congress does not have a good leader, vision or cause. It will be routed as we are the party that delivers on its promises,” he said.

In the last local body polls held in 2018 before a few councils were upgraded to corporations, the BJP won six mayoral posts (including one with the support of an Independent), while the Congress won two. The Congress had marginally bettered the BJP in the municipal council polls, winning 14 chairpersons’ posts as against the BJP’s 13. In the nagar panchayats, the BJP currently has 17 chairpersons while the Congress has seven.

The Congress, on the other hand, is pushing local issues like unemployment, corruption and alleged misuse of land in its campaign. “These polls are the foundation of the 2027 Assembly elections. We have put in the hard work and several seats look promising. We have been speaking of the Smart City project, drainage systems and how Dehradun has become congested without proper infrastructure. The BJP is treating these polls as Lok Sabha polls and their star campaigners include UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who has not even showed up. Dhami going door-to-door for campaigning shows the BJP’s insecurity,” party spokesperson Sheeshpal Singh Bisht said.

However, the Congress has run into trouble over ticket distribution for the local body polls. Apart from the exit of its vice-president Mathura Dutt Joshi over denial of ticket to his wife, the party is facing rebellion from Pithoragarh MLA Mayukh Mahar, who has extended support to an Independent after his choice of candidate was overlooked.

A party leader admitted that action against the Pithoragarh MLA before the polls could harm the Congress’ prospects. “If we take action now, he will immediately join the BJP and thus dent our chances. We have prepared a report (on the issue) and sent it to the high command. It is just a matter of time,” the leader said.

Since last year, the Congress has seen its electoral fortunes fluctuate in the state. After failing to win even one of the state’s five Lok Sabha seats last year, it made a comeback a month later winning the Badrinath and Manglaur bypolls. However, it lost the Kedarnath Assembly bypoll in November last year to the BJP.