The efforts to woo the Electoral College for the elections of President and Vice President District Panchayat have become very feverish. The elections for these positions are on Tuesday and the aspirants are using every possible method to secure the support of the newly elected district Panchayat members. The political atmosphere in the State is abuzz with reports of money and muscle power which the contestants are employing to secure the necessary support.
The major political parties BJP and Congress have instructed their top leaders to ensure that their supporters are able to win maximum number of seats. The reports suggest that in almost all the districts the BJP and Congress supported contestants have gathered the members of Electoral College to some remote destination so as to avoid poaching by rival candidates.
These members are kept in some hotel or resort for last many days and every possible care is being taken for their comfort. The rumours that are going round suggest that in Dehradun district the Congress supported candidate has reportedly taken a group of district Panchayat members to Shimla where these members are enjoying the hospitality along with their family members while his rival BJP candidate has put their supporters at a hotel in Mussoorie.
The newly elected District Panchayat members are reportedly being offered anything between `15-20 lakh apart from other promises depending upon the situation. Interestingly, some of the elected members of Electoral College have asked to provide the services of a helper on the plea that they are illiterate.
The observers point out a big game in these pleas too, according to them these helpers are actually employed to keep an eye on the voting of any doubtful member.
Though the Panchayat elections are not fought on the party lines but the political parties remain eager to ensure victories for their supporters.
The BJP in the wake of the huge electoral success officially declared the list of the candidates for the elections of member Block and district panchayat, while the Congress on the hand played its cards safely and did not came out with the official list of the candidates.
After the withdrawal of the names on Saturday, the official BJP candidates are in direct contest with the Congress backed candidates in 10 out of 12 districts where the elections for three tier Panchayat bodies were held recently.
In Udham Singh Nagar, the Congress backed candidates for President and Vice President have been elected unanimously, while there is a triangular contest for both these positions in Bageshwar district. In these elections the reputation of senior Congress leaders and Cabinet ministers Harak Singh Rawat and Pritam Singh is at stake.
Pritam Singh brother Chaman Singh is contesting from Dehradun while Rawat’s wife is a candidate for District Panchayat President from Pauri.