With wining the Mayor seat of the Municipal Corporation of Haldwani (MCH) becoming an issue of prestige for the ruling Congress party and the BJP, Muslim voters are going to play a crucial role in the MCH elections which are going to be held on Sunday, April 28.
The poll pundits are of the view that there are about 97,766 in the Municipal Corporation of Haldwani and over 25 per cent of the total voters here belong to the Muslim community. Therefore, it is highly likely that this sizeable chunk of voters may swing the outcome of the civic polls in favour of any party.
The Congress party's extensive poll campaign led by MlA from Haldwani Assembly constituency and State Finance Minister Indira Haridayesh in Muslim dominated segments during the past few days only gives that impression.
More so, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna during his visit to Haldwani on Thursday addressed a public rally at Taj Chauraha which is also a Muslim dominated area.
Earlier Congress rebel Iqbal Bharti also demanded party ticket for the Haldwani Mayor post on the ground that given a sizeable number of Muslim voters a Muslim candidate should be given an opportunity to contest the elections for Haldwani Mayor seat.
Bharti also filed his nomination defying party's decision. However, he later withdrew his candidature from the fray giving way to party's mayoral candidate Bagarwal.
But the BJP thinks that in Muslim dominated areas the main fight is between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the BJP. The main electoral fight in these Muslim dominated areas is between the BJP and the SP, said senior BJP leader and former vice-chairman of the State Minority Commission Mazhar Naeem Nawab.
Therefore, we need not to be worried about the Congress, he added. There are a total 13 candidates are now in the fray for the Mayor seat of Haldwani city. Among other factors one of the rebel Congress candidate Chandra Mohan Thakur's decision to remain in the fray now makes the electoral battle for the election of the Haldwani Mayor open for many other candidates. Yet the main fight is believed to be between the BJP's Joginder Rautela and Congress' Hemant Bagarwal.
With as many as 13 candidates being in the fray for Haldwani Mayor seat, a total 182 candidates are also in the fray for 25 wards of the MCH.