The rebellion of three time MlA Vijay Barthwal and formidable Congress candidate in form of Shailendra Singh Rawat would mean that the political debut of daughter of BJP stalwart Major General Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri (Rtd) could turn out to be a baptism by fire in Yamkeshwar Assembly constituency. Vijay Barthwal the sitting MlA from the area was winning the seat comfortably from last three terms. The BJP took the risk of denying the ticket to Barthwal this time and reposed faith in Ritu Khanduri, the daughter of BC Khanduri. It is learnt that the BJP leadership was pressurised by senior Khanduri for ticket to his daughter.
“The reasons behind the choice are obvious, Khanduriji thought that Yamkeshwar is a safe seat as he got a big lead from here in the general elections of 2014.
But things are not easy for Ritu as nobody knows her and Vijay Barthwal has decided to take plunge in these elections,’’ said Vijay Payal, a resident of Silogi town.
Ritu runs a non governmental organisation in Delhi and is married to a Bihar cadre Indian Administrative Service officer. People of the State don’t know much about her and she would depend solely on the image of her father to sail through in these elections. The Congress candidate Shailendra Singh Rawat switched over to Congress after he was denied ticket from Kotdwar by the BJP. He won from Kotdwar in the assembly election of 2007 when he trounced Congress leader Surendra Singh Negi. In the elections of 2012 Shailendra was denied ticket to make way for BC Khanduri. He is considered as among those responsible for the defeat of Khanduri and the interesting coincidence this time is that Ritu Khanduri would have to overcome the challenge from him (Shailendra) to make her political debut successful. Shailendra has been nurturing Kotdwar for about ten years now but he is not new to Yamkeshwar as he was Block Pramukh of Dugadda in 2002. The villages of Dugadda block fall in Yamkeshwar assembly constituency.
Gambhir Singh Negi a resident of Dugadda opined that a tough battle is on cards as the Shailendra Rawat is a formidable candidate. “BJP would try to persuade Vijay Barthwal to withdraw her nomination to make Ritu Khanduri's path easier,’’ he said.
Yameshwar assembly constituency is part of the Pauri district and comprises of villages traditionally called ‘Salan’ (riverside foothills). The constituency is named after a famous Shiva temple located in Yamkeshwar town. According to a famous folklore the lord of death Yama, worshipped lord Shiva here.