Congress leaders in Uttarakhand have been busy in lobbying since declaration of the date for local bodies’ election.
Former Dehradun Mayor Manorma Dobriyal Sharma, Municipal Corporation of Dehradun Opposition leader Ashok Verma and former city Congress president lalchand Sharma are all in the race for the April 28 polls.
Sources said Manorma, whom the party had denied a ticket from Dehradun Cantt during Assembly elections 2012, is running ahead of all aspirants and is expected to get the Congress high command’s final approval in a day or two.
Sources said the high command has empowered State PCC president Yashpal Arya and Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to select candidates but the duo has been shirking their responsibility by leaving it to the leadership.
Manorma, who lost the battle to Devendra Sethi during the Assembly elections 2012, has presented her claim strongly for Dehradun Mayor’s seat.
PCC vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana is also vying for the reserved mayoral seat for general category male, along with Verma and Sharma. Dhasmana had lost the Assembly ticket battle to Sethi because of a case related to firing at a Rajya Andolankari was pending in court but now, he has overcome the allegations.
Manorma is considered close to Union Minister Harish Rawat. leaders are watching developments closely because if she gets a ticket, it will be apparent that the party high command has given preference to Rawat.
Sources in the Bahuguna camp said Rawat had also dropped a ‘letter bomb’ to put pressure on the Chief Minister over slow progress of Central schemes in the State. However, Bahuguna has rejected the claim outright in a point-by-point rebuttal.
Keeping in mind the mayoral elections, Dhasmana, who is considered closer to the Chief Minister, was quite busy in the municipal area by distributing blankets among the needy and taking part in other public welfare programmes.
It is being considered that the local bodies’ election outcome will decide the future of the State Government. This is why Bahuguna is not ready to leave any stone unturned. The Chief Minister is already facing trouble since losing the Tehri lok Sabha bypoll, which was contested by his son Saket.
Now, time will tell who gets the ticket for the civic body elections.