BJP’s candidate Vinod Chamoli has defeated Congress candidate Suryakant Dhasmana by 22,912 votes in Dehradun Municipal Corporation mayor seat on Tuesday. BSP candidate Rajni Rawat secured third position.
Amid tight security in and around the counting venue -- Sanatan Dharm Inter College, Race course -- the counting of votes for the DMC election began at 8 am under the observation of district election officer BVRC Purushottam and senior superintendent of police Kewal Khurana and concluded at 4 pm. The final result about Chamoli’s victory was announced after 17 rounds of counting.
With the beginning of the counting of votes, the supporters of different political parties and independent candidates started gathering outside the venue and kept dancing on the tune of drummer. Anticipating the mood, police had deployed large number of police personnel in and around the venue. As a precautionary measure, they closed the road leading to the venue.
Due to this daily users, who used to travel on the road to pick and drop of their ward to school, had to face tough time on Tuesday.
The situation outside the venue could be as per news about their candidates lead; they would start dancing and shouting slogans in support of their candidate and party as well.
After the declaration of five rounds of counting of votes, the former Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha Speaker and BJP senior leader Harbans Kapoor along with Mussoorie MlA Ganesh Joshi and other party workers reached the counting venue and witnessed wishing candidates who won the election of councillor from BJP.
In the first round of counting, Chamoli secured 6,391 votes followed by Congress candidate Dhasmana by 3,804 votes and BSP’s candidate Rawat with 2,799 votes. In all the rounds of counting of votes,
Chamoli had made big margin over other contesting candidates and he finally won the election of Dehradun Mayor by 22,912 votes.
DEO Purushottam said that around 1.96 lakh voters had exercised their franchise in the DMC poll. BJP’s candidate Chamoli obtained 80,530 votes followed by Congress candidate Dhasmana with 57,618 votes; BSP’s candidate Madam Rajni Rawat with 46,689 votes; Uttarakhand Kranti Dal’s candidate Manmohan lakhada with 3,302 votes. Independent candidates Sanjay Gairola secured 2,190 votes followed by Sardar Singh with 2,192 votes; Makbul Ahmad with 1,777 votes; Rajendra Prasad Gairola with 1,521 votes; Rajiv Kothari with 500 votes and SS rawat with 430 votes.
Elated Chamoli said that Doon residents had “voted me second time so he would try his best to meet their expectation in the next five years”. In 2008 DMC election, Chamoli had won by defeating then independent candidate Rajni Rawat.
Voters have rejected Cong-ruled Govt: Rawat
Even the scorching heat failed to down the spirits of BJP activists after ongoing BJP mayoral candidate Vinod Chamoli won the seat of mayor of MCD for the second consecutive term. Besides, out of 60 councillor seats in MCD, the BJP comfortably won 32 seats. The State BJP office reverberated with slogans as party supporters celebrated the party’s victory in the civic polls in the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions of Uttarakhand on Tuesday.
“People have reaffirmed their faith in leadership through this verdict which is also a slap on the face of those who do not want to see development in Uttarakhand,” said BJP Uttarakhand Chief Tirath Singh Rawat. He said that Congress-ruled State Government has failed to carry development activities across the State in the last one year; thus voters exercised their franchise in the favour of BJP candidates.
According to him, it is a matter of concern that the Congress has quashed the beneficiary schemes introduced during the BJP regime, thus causing huge inconvenience especially to those villagers who are living in the higher parts of Uttarakhand. Rawat lamented that corruption, bad governance, inflation and the terrible law and order situation are a feature of the Congress-led State Government.
Echoing the same feelings, leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha, Ajay Bhatt, said that Congress tasted defeat due to anti-people policies introduced by the Congress-led state government in the last one year. He said that the development activities including repairing of roads, construction of schools and health centres, especially in the higher parts of the State, have come to a stop during the Congress regime in the State. Bhatt claimed that the BJP candidates will repeat the history of winning in the next general elections, scheduled to take place next year.
After terming his five-year tenure as mayor of Municipal Corporation of Dehradun as a complete success as various development activities were introduced during his tenure, the newly elected mayor, Vinod Chamoli said that the Congress-rule in Uttarakhand has been a complete failure as various development activities that were introduced during the BJP regime in Uttarakhand was quashed by the present Government. He further said that corruption has turned rampant in the Congress Government. Chamoli said that the Congress-led State Government lacks vision, resulting in the mountainous parts of the State lacking basic amenities like road, potable water, health centres, school etc. He said that he would introduce various beneficiary schemes for the upliftment of the weaker sections of the society; besides, intense work would be carried out by him for the beautification of the municipal areas.
After lambasting the Congress-led State Government over development issues, Ravindra Jugran, former chairman, Rajya Nirman Andolankari Samman Parishad said that the despite fact that the State Government and Congress candidates misused the Government machinery during campaigning in the civic polls, the residents gave their verdict in the favour of BJP, as they know that the party is development and people-friendly. Jugran said that the corruption has become rampant in the Congress Government and the development activities have come to halt in the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions of Uttarakhand.