Uttarakhand polls: BJP eyes 2nd term in triangular contest
WITH power shuttling between the BJP and the Congress every five years in Uttarakhand, the ruling BJP faces the challenge of repeating its government for a second consecutive term when the State goes to polls on February 14.
Dehradun: WITH power shuttling between the BJP and the Congress every five years in Uttarakhand, the ruling BJP faces the challenge of repeating its government for a second consecutive term when the State goes to polls on February 14.
The challenge is only stiffened by an anti-incumbency worsened by the fact that the party in power gave three chief ministers to the state in less than five years, changing two of them in quick succession despite storming to power with a huge mandate in 2017.
The change of two chief ministers within just a few months has led the incumbent BJP to face the charge of frittering the mandate it got in 2017 and causing political instability in the state. It had won 57 of 70 seats in the 2017 Assembly polls, making the most of the Narendra Modi factor while the Congress won 11 and independents two. The presence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the fray as the other challenger also makes the poll scene different this time for both the Congress and the BJP. Though most seats are likely to see straight contests between the BJP and the Congress, AAP may also make the contest triangular on a few. However, unlike its formidable opponents, the party does not have much of an organisational base in the state, which may work to its disadvantage. The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) which had spearheaded the movement for a separate state is also trying to regain lost ground this time.
Led by Kashi Singh Airi, the UKD had given its support to the BJP to form a government under the leadership of Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri in 2007 but drew a blank in the 2012 and 2017 Assembly polls. The BJP is seeking another term in the name of development projects like the reconstruction of Kedarnath, Char Dham all-weather road and Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail line. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his poll rallies has described the decade as that of Uttarakhand, saying infrastructure projects underway in the state will boost tourism in a big way and generate large-scale employment opportunities. The BJP, which has set itself a target of winning more than 60 seats this time, is also banking on the appeal of a young and fresh face in Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. To make all equations favourable, the BJP government also withdrew the Char Dham Devasthanam Board Act to pacify agitating priests.
