Modi dominates discourse – in campaigns of BJP and Opposition Congress

In their campaigns, the BJP candidates can be heard reiterating development-related work done by the government in the past five years under central and state schemes. The Congress candidates are targeting the Modi government for allegedly working in favour of a few businesspersons and industrialists, apart from other issues like farmers, demonetisation, GST and the Rafale deal.

Modi has addressed two rallies in the state — in Rudrapur, which falls under Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar seat — and state capital Dehradun. In the Rudrapur rally, which was aimed at garnering support for the BJP from the Kumaon belt, the PM targeted Congress leader and former chief minister Harish Rawat, who is the Congress candidate from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar seat and is contesting against Uttarakhand BJP president Ajay Bhatt. Modi alleged that the Uttarakhand government, with Harish Rawat as CM, did not let him undertake development work when he became PM.

According to sources in the Congress, Modi’s comments were being seen as an effort to dissuade people from voting for Rawat, as defeating the senior Congress leader in Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar seat was an uphill task for the BJP.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has already addressed a rally in Dehradun and will be addressing three more on Saturday — in Srinagar under Pauri Garhwal seat, Almora, and Haridwar seats.

Of the five seats, the position of the Congress is weakest in Haridwar, where Congress leader Ambrish Kumar is contesting against sitting BJP MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Ambrish, who won the Assembly election from Haridwar in 1996 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls as a SP candidate, has never won an election in Uttarakhand. Nishank, a former Uttarakhand CM, has served three terms in the UP Assembly and three terms in the Uttarakhand Assembly.

In Pauri Garhwal seat, too, the BJP has an advantage over the Congress, since Congress candidate Manish Khanduri, son of former Uttarakhand chief minister and sitting BJP MP from Pauri Major General (retd.) B C Khanduri, is new to politics. He is now banking on the Congress vote bank and his father’s reputation. Manish’s opponent is former Uttarakhand BJP president Tirath Singh Rawat, who is also his father’s protégé.

In Almora (SC) seat, the contest is between senior Congress leader Pradeep Tamta, a former MLA and former Lok Sabha MP who is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand, and sitting Lok Sabha MP from Almora Ajay Tamta, who is currently Union Minister of State for Textiles. A neck-and-neck contest is expected between the two candidates, sources in the BJP and Congress said.

In Tehri seat, there is an undercurrent of disappointment regarding the perceived underperformance of sitting BJP MP Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah. Uttarakhand Congress president Pritam Singh, who is the MLA from Chakrata (ST) seat, is the Congress candidate from Tehri. Singh is expected to give Shah, who is riding an apparent Modi wave, tough competition.

BSP-SP alliance

In 2004 Lok Sabha elections, an SP candidate won Haridwar (SC) seat. This was the only instance of any member of the BSP or SP winning a Lok Sabha seat in Uttarakhand.

The BSP and SP have entered now into an alliance for the state. They decided that SP would field its candidate in Pauri Garhwal seat, and the BSP in the other four seats. However, the SP failed to field any candidate in Pauri. SP’s former Uttarakhand unit head Satya Narayan Sachan said, “We felt that fielding a candidate might reduce vote share of other candidates and benefit the BJP.”

The BSP has fielded candidates in Tehri, Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar, Almora and Haridwar. While BSP isn’t in a winning position in any of these seats, it might impact vote share of the Congress and BJP, especially in Almora, which is a reserved seat, sources said.