The countryside of Uttarakhand is buzzing these days with the liquor parties thrown by the panchayat election aspirants. The three-tier panchayat election in the State is scheduled on June 18, 21 and 24 and the candidates are spending lavishly on the tried and tested booze to woo the electorate.
The elections of Member District Panchayat and Pradhans are drawing more attention of the rural folks as multiple candidates have thrown their hats in the ring for these positions. The position of Pradhan has become a symbol of power and affluence among the villagers and it is really interesting to note the keenness among the candidates to grab this position even in the remote villages located in the mountainous areas which are reeling under the effects of large scale migration. The Panchayat elections aspirants are inviting their relatives and friends settled in the cities and towns for their election campaigning. The hitherto sleepy villages are the sites of the animated election related discussions and activities.
A candidate who is trying his luck for the position of Member District Panchayat from the Chedhar area of Ekeshwar block of Pauri Garhwal district said that he has hired three taxis for his supporters for the election campaign. He revealed that he has provided his supporters the necessary ammunition -read liquor- to organise the parties. The booze lovers in the villages are enjoying the attention as they are getting daily invitation from many quarters.
The liquor smuggled from Haryana is easily available to the contestants and they have stockpiled them in large numbers to woo the voters. The liquor sold by the large number of serving and retired armed forces personnel is however much in demand among the booze lovers. While the booze lovers are enjoying the constant flow of liquor the village elders and the saner elements are not happy with these parties. NS Gusain a resident of Village Beragarh village of Yamkeshwar block of Pauri Garhwal told this correspondent that those enjoying the booze parties should understand the motives of the party givers as they are trying to buy their precious vote.
The rural women are the most affected by these parties and are showing their resentment. "Many women of my village have decided that they would not vote to the persons who are trying to buy the votes by booze and we will vote to the deserving persons only", said one such lady.
The elections in all the districts of Uttarakhand barring Haridwar would be held in three stages and an electorate of 46,94,689 (23,13,900 female voters and 23,77,103 male voters) would exercise their franchise in them. The rural electorate of 12 Districts, 89 blocks and 7,657 village panchayats would elect 49,337 members of village Panchayat, 7,657 Village Pradhans, 3,054 members of Block Panchayat and 389 members of District Panchayat. The State Election commission has set up 8,387 polling centres and 10,516 polling booths for the Panchayat elections.