Chief Minister Harish Rawat definitely tried to be a popular Chief Minister by announcing a few populist measures like raising bar of upper age limit from 40 years to 42 years for Uttarakhand services
and announcing openings in Government departments including basic education sector (though appointments are yet to be granted) soon after becoming head of the State Government about four months ago, but this is the high time for Rawat to prove himself as an assertive Chief Minister too on political front.
And that feat Chief Minister Rawat could achieve only by wining all the three assembly segments in the by elections which are scheduled to be held in next month. To strengthen party’s position in the State legislative Assembly is vital for Chief Minister Rawat. It is worth mentioning that with having only 33 MlAs including a nominated member in the house of 70 MlAs, the Congress party is running a coalition Government in Uttarakhand with the help of the BSP and a few independent MlAs.
Though, to achieve that goal of strengthening party’s position in the State legislative Assembly and in the larger interests of the party, Chief Minister Rawat has already done a lot of political maneuverings by bringing in Rekha Arya to the party fold from the BJP who is party candidate now from the Someshwar (reserved) Assembly Constituency and a strong contender in this seat.
More so, by getting vacated the Dharchula Assembly Constituency from his own party MlA Harish Dhami, Chief Minister Rawat also seems to have already secured his chances of winning this seat which is considered as a stronghold of the Congress party.
Therefore, the Congress party was in search for a safer seat for Chief Minister Rawat. However, after resignation of Congress MlA from Dharchula Assembly Constituency Harish Dhami it had become clear that Chief Minister Rawat could contest from that seat.
Now, the party high command has also given its stamp of approval for this seat. Dharchula assembly seat is considered to be a strong hold of Congress party where the party managed to maintain its lead even in the recently concluded lok Sabha polls. But interestingly, the real challenge before the Congress party and Chief Minister Rawat is to register victory in the Doiwala Assembly Constituency.
It is to note that the two assembly seats including Doiwala and Someshwar were vacant after MlA from Doiwala seat, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s victory from the Haridwar lok Sabha seat and MlA from Someshwar (reserved seat), Ajay Tamta’s victory from the Almora Pithoragarh parliamentary constituency.
However, since the Congress party has not been in a strong position in the Doiwala seat as it not only lost that assembly constituency to the BJP in the State Assembly Election in 2012, but also could not improve its performance even in the same Doiwala seat in the recently held lok Sabha elections .
So, there were a lot of speculations over the fact that Chief Minister Rawat may contest from two assembly constituencies i.e. Doiwala and Dharchual in the by elections by ignoring views of a faction of the party which believes that ‘Chief Minister Rawat must contest only from one seat’. The party leaders which were opposing this decision of Chief
Minister Rawat to contest from two seats were of the view that by contesting from one seat, some other party candidate may be given a chance to become the member of the state legislative assembly.
So as the party leaders here believe, Chief Minister Rawat perhaps keeping in mind these sentiments of the party finally made up its mind to contest from only one seat and that is Dharchcula. Since out of the three by poll bound assembly seats, Dharchula was already with the Congress party, therefore, to improve party’s tally in the State legislative Assembly, as the Congress’ poll managers believe, securing party ‘s win in the Doiwala assembly segment and the Someshwar (reserved seat) is vital for the ruling Congress party.