Election Commission of India (ECI) which had debarred 58 candidates -who had contested Assembly election -2012- for failing to file details of their election expenditure from contesting election for the next three years, has lifted the ban from seven of them, including four candidates who contested from Sahaspur and one each from Raipur, Rajpur Road and Dhanaulti Assembly constituencies. The decision has given a reprieve to Rajni Rawat who gave the BJP candidate Vinod Chamoli a run for his money in the 2008 mayoral election for Dehradun and contested the 2012 Assembly election as an Independent candidate and won a large chunk of votes. Notably, she was all set to challenge the Congress candidate Vijay Bahuguna from Tehri lok Sabha constituency in 2009. However, persuaded by Bahuguna, she withdrew from the contest later.
The ECI decision might not please the probable BJP candidate from high -voltage Raipur constituency Umesh Sharma Kau. Kau was disqualified from the Assembly after he, a Congress MlA from the same constituency, turned rebel and later switched to BJP. Congress was all set to field Rajni Rawat to take on Kau before the ECI order came.
It would be pertinent to mention here that Rawat made Vinod Chamoli scrape through the mayoral election, standing a close second in terms of votes polled, forging far ahead of the Congress candidate Suryakant Dhasmana, though she contested as an Independent candidate.Gauging her clout among the electorate, Vijay Bahuguna had to placate her into withdrawing after she decided to throw her hat in the ring for the lok Sabha election 2009 from prestigious Tehri constituency. Congress brass restrained her by assuring a party ticket in the upcoming Assembly election.
later, she contested election from Raipur constituency in 2012 as an Independent. Thereafter, she joined Congress in the run-up to the general election-2014. Since Kau switched to the saffron camp she was desperately eyeing Raipur seat. However, ECI threw cold water on her ambition. Now, ECI lifting the ban, things have turned interesting again for Raipur constituency.