The picture for the elections of President and Vice President District Panchayat would become clear on Saturday which is the date for withdrawal of names.
For the position of President District Panchayat, 28 candidates filed their nomination papers, while 31 candidates are in fray for the position of Vice President District Panchayat in the 12 districts where the elaborate election process for three-tier Panchayati Raj institution is nearing its end.The contest in almost all the districts would be between BJP's official candidates and Congress supported candidates.
The BJP buoyed by its huge success in the lok Sabha elections officially declared its list of candidates for the positions of member district Panchayat and member Block Panchayat. The Congress, on the other hand, played its cards cautiously and did not officially declare its candidates. The results of the Panchayat bypolls proved a setback for the BJP, while the Congress rejoiced at the unexpected turn of fortunes.
The Congress is now claiming that the majority of Block Pramukhs which got elected on August 27 are of Congress background. The party is working on a plan where at least 8-10 positions of President District Panchayat are in its kitty. The party has even opened its account in Udham Singh Nagar where Congressmen for the both President and Vice President got elected unopposed. Ishwari Prasad Gangwar one of a senior Congress leader was the only person to file his nomination paper for District Panchayat President in Udham Singh Nagar. In Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Champawat districts there is a direct contest between two candidates.
In Bageshwar district, four candidates are in fray while in Pithoragarh, Nainital and Almora districts three candidates each have filed their papers.The position of District Presidents of Pauri and Dehradun are the most keenly watched contests as close relatives of senior congress and BJP leaders are pitched against each other.
In Pauri, Dipti Rawat the wife of Congress stalwart and cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat is in direct contest with Himani Negi wife of former District Panchayat president Kesar Singh Negi.In Dehradun, the BJP candidate Madhu Chauhan is wife of Senior BJP leader Munna Singh Chauhan and the Congress supported candidate Chaman Singh is brother of Cabinet Minister Pritam Singh.
In these elections, the reputation of Harak Singh Rawat is at stake as apart from Pauri his protégés are in the fray from Tehri (Beena Sajwan) and Rudraprayag (laxmi Rana).