The considerable number of ex-servicemen along with serving defence and paramilitary personnel of Uttarakhand will play a decisive role in the lok Sabha election especially in the Garhwal constituency.
The main contest for the Garhwal seat is believed to be between Congress candidate and Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat who is also in-charge of the Soldier Welfare portfolio and the BJP candidate and former chief minister Maj Gen (retd) Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri.
The Congress candidate Rawat believed that the work he had done for the ex-servicemen in his capacity as a Cabinet Minister will work in his favour. Apart from this, the Congress-led UPA Government had also approved the long standing demand of the ex-servicemen for one-rank, one-pension. This is another factor which the Congress believed will work in its favour in the polls.
According to State Government data, while there are more than 1.2 lakh ex-servicemen in Uttarakhand and more than one lakh are currently serving in the defence forces and there are 34,675 widows of defence personnel in the State.
Considering this, the Congress was earlier considering fielding lt Gen (retd) Gambhir Singh Negi from the Garhwal constituency after the Congress MP from Garhwal, Satpal Maharaj left the party and joined the BJP.
However, Rawat was fielded by the Congress as he is believed to be politically able enough to challenge Khanduri.
On the other hand, BJP candidate Maj Gen (retd) BC Khanduri has represented Garhwal constituency four times in the Parliament since 1991. The ex-servicemen segment is believed to have played a crucial part in ensuring his victory from this constituency so far.
On becoming the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand in 2007, he had substantially increased the gallantry award money. He believed that the approval accorded to one rank, one pension without proper budgetary allocation will not fool the ex-servicemen.
The Garhwal Parliamentary constituency consists of the Pauri, Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts.
According to Government data, the number of ex servicemen and widows of defence personnel is 11,401 and 3,555 respectively in Chamoli district while there are 22,162 ex servicemen and 6152 widows of defence personnel in Pauri, 3171 ex servicemen and 1,163 widows of defence personnel in Rudraprayag district.
Though the candidates of BJP, Congress and other parties are focusing on all segments of society, the ex-servicemen constitute a segment which cannot be ignored.