Ritu Khanduri, daughter of former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party senior leader Major General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (retd), must have breathed a sigh of relief when the BJP top brass managed to persuade three-time MlA Vijay Barthwal to withdraw from the contest. Rebelling after being denied the party ticket which was awarded to Khanduri’s daughter, Barthwal had filed nomination papers from Yamkeshwar Assembly constituency as an independent candidate.
In a damage-control measure, the BJP leadership is on a mission to assuage the hurt sentiments of the leaders who were not allotted party tickets to contest. The BJP leaders, state in-charge Shyam Jaju and former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna organised a press conference on Saturday and announced that Barthwal had agreed to withdraw from the contest from Yamkeshwar Assembly constituency. Barthwal who was also present on the occasion could not suppress the anger at the humiliation she faced when the BJP decided to axe her candidature from the seat which she has won three times in a row. She said that the party denied her ticket without even taking her into confidence and on the demand of her supports she had filed her nomination papers as an independent candidate in the past. Now, she has pledged support to Ritu Khanduri and declared that she would canvass for her.
Barthwal is expected to withdraw her nomination on Monday. The withdrawal decision of Barthwal would definitely provide a fillip to the electoral prospects of Khanduri who is a newcomer in the politics. The Congress which looked in advantageous position when Vijay Barthwal filed papers as an independent candidate, would lose that expected advantage now. The Congress has fielded Shailendra Singh Rawat, a former BJP MlA, from Kotdwar who resigned from the party (BJP) when it fielded one of the Congress turncoat MlAs -- Harak Singh Rawat from Kotdwar assembly constituency. Congress latched on to the opportunity and gave party ticket to Shailendra who is stated to command considerable following in the area.
He was Block Pramukh of Dugadda in year 2002. large number of villages of Dugadda block fall in Yamkeshwar assembly constituency.
Yamkeshwar assembly constituency has a total number of 83485 voters (males- 43919, female- 39565). It is spread in a large area covering about 165 villages. In the assembly elections of 2012 BJP candidate Vijay Barthwal scored a hat trick of wins when she defeated Sarojini Kaintyura of Congress by a margin of 3541 votes.
Though Ritu is considered to be a political novice, she is also perceived to be carrying forward the political legacy of her father B C Khanduri who would leave no stone unturned to ensure a successful political debut for his daughter.