The position of President District Panchayat in Dehradun has become an issue of personal pride for Congress leader and Cabinet Minister Pritam Singh and senior BJP leader Munna Singh Chauhan. Brother and wife of these two old war horses of politics would slug it out against each other for the top post of District Panchayat.
Madhu Chauhan is wife of Chauhan is official BJP candidate while Chaman Singh the Brother of Pritam Singh is Congress candidate for the post.
The date of filing the nomination for the position of President and Vice President District Panchayat is on July 30 and the elections for these positions is on August 5.
The Congress seems to be on strong wicket in District as the name of Chaman Singh was finalised by the party much before Madhu Chauhan was given a green signal by BJP.
The district has 43 members of district Panchayat; these directly elected members would elect the President and Vice President District Panchayat.
In the direct elections of the member district Panchayat which were recently held the BJP buoyed by its spectacular success in the lok Sabha elections
officially declared the list of its candidates.
The party however got a shock as only 12 candidates’ could get elected in a house of 43. The Congress on the other hand played its cards cautiously in the aftermath of a crushing defeat in the lok Sabha elections and did not officially declare its candidates.
The Congress is now claiming that it would comfortably get its candidate elected for President as majority of the newly elected District panchayat members are having Congress background.
The fact that Chaman Singh got more time to woo the members of Electoral College is proving beneficial for him.
In BJP the internal rivalry between former Chief Minister and MP from Haridwar lok Sabha constituency Ramesh Pokhariyal ‘Nishank’ and Munna Singh Chauhan caused delay in finalising the name of official party candidate.
According to the party sources Nishank was backing the candidature of Subhash Sharma for the position.
The party however was able to placate Sharma and he is now party’s official candidate for the position of Vice President.
It is pertinent to mention here that Madhu Chauhan was able to win the election of Panchayat President last time even though her party BJP opposed her candidature. Munna Singh showed his tight grip over the politics of district when despite
opposition of the BJP; he was able to get his wife elected President District panchayat as an independent candidate.
Prior to Madhu Chauhan Chaman Singh held the position of President District Panchayat, this shows the influence of both Pritam Singh and Munna Sigh Chauhan in the politics of Doon.