With candidates of different political parties keeping their fingers crossed ahead of declaration of the results of recently concluded lok Sabha polls on Friday, MlAs of different political parties also seemed to be busy in assessing their respective assembly segments' contribution to the victory or defeat of their respective party lok Sabha candidates.
BJP MlA Raj Kumar Thukral from Rudrapur assembly seat which is part of the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar parliamentary constituency, expecting a huge victory for the BJP from his seat, claimed that the popular support from Rudrapur constituency for party candidate Bhagat Singh Koshiyari would be bigger than what he had received in 2012 assembly elections.
However, when his attention was drawn to the fact that the Opposition parties accuse him or the BJP of disturbing communal harmony in the society, Thukral allegedly said that the then State Congress Government, instead of taking action against those who were responsible for creating communal tension in Rudrapur in October 2011, "registered a case against me in this case by misusing CB CID".
"The people of my constituency know the truth. They must have extended their support to me in these lok Sabha polls, too, as they had supported me in 2012 assembly polls," added Thukral. Similarly, the BJP is also getting a huge support from other assembly segments of Udham Singh Nagar after being disappointed with the Congress-led Central as well as state Governments, he claimed.
So it will be interesting to see amid a kind anti-incumbency factor whether the ruling Congress party which has been facing the charges of playing vindictive politics in the Terai region, particularly in Udham Singh Nagar of the Nainital Udham
Singh Nagar seat as the BJP leader has alleged, manages to retain the same seat this time or not.
But unlike the Congress party, the BJP seems quite hopeful of cornering this Nainital Udham Singh Nagar parliamentary seat which is considered a strong hold of the Congress party.
However, the results of these recently concluded general elections will definitely rewrite the script of regional politics in the times to come. The main contest for the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar seat is between the BJP and Congress party.
With sizeable presence of Muslim voters in this Nainital -Udham Singh Nagar parliamentary constituency, the Congress Party has been able to better utilise the caste-based politics in this seat winning this lok Sabha seat for nine times out of 12 elections held since 1951. However, the BJP has been able to register its victory in this seat only on two occasions in 1991 and 1998 and the Janta Party in 1977.
Meanwhile, the main electoral battle in this Almora-Pithoragarh seat is also between the Congress Party and the BJP and a kind of personality clash electoral battle has always dominated the local politics here in this hill lok Sabha seat.
Incumbent Pradeep Tamta, who is Congress party candidate from this seat has direct electoral fight with BJP's Ajay Tamta, who was also party candidate in the 2009 general elections from the same Almora-Pithoragarh lok Sabha seat.
The political rivalry between these two leaders is not new and the political rivalry between the two leaders only became wider in the parliamentary elections of 2009 when Congress' Pradeep Tamta managed to register his victory in the Almora-Pithoragah parliamentary seat, though his victory margin was thin.
So it is to be seen whether BJP Ajay Tamta could win the said seat from the Congress this time or not, though the BJP leaders have expressed their hope to win this seat with comfortable majority.