A resounding win in the Assembly bypolls has emboldened the Congress party to go for a kill in the State Panchayat elections.
The party was so depressed after the debacle in the lok Sabha elections that it decided not to officially declare its candidates for the three tier Panchayat elections.
However, after sweeping the by elections it is now claiming that majority of the Block Pramukhs who won the elections are Congressmen. The elections for the positions of Block Pramukh, Senior Deputy Pramukh and Junior Deputy Pramukh were held on Sunday.
The Congress party is claiming that the out of the 89 Block Pramukhs the party workers have been able to win in 60 positions. The BJP on the other hand claimed that the exact position is not yet clear. The President of the BJP State Panchayat cell, Digambar Singh Negi claimed that the party did well in these elections but Congress party used the state machinery to influence these elections. The Congress in aftermath of the lok Sabha debacle remained away from the Panchayat elections but the Panchayat results came as a pleasant surprise for the party which is ruling in the state, as large number of its workers won the elections of Member Block Panchayat and Member district Panchayat.
The win in the by elections of Dharchula, Doiwala and Someshwar assembly constituencies not only stabilised the Harish Rawat led Congress government but it also prompted the party to get its workers elected in the majority of the positions in the Block and District panchayats.
The Party is now hoping that it would be able to elect its workers in 8-10 positions of the Panchayat President out of 12 positions which are at stake and the party leaders are working overtime to ensure this.