With BJP's Ajay Tamta filing his nomination for the Almora-Pithoragrh parliamentary constituency in Almora on Thursday, the stage is all set for another high pitched electoral clash between the traditional rivals i.e. the Congress and the BJP for the Almora-Pithoragarh parliamentary constituency.
The electoral rivalry between the Congress party and the BJP in this seat is not new. These two main political parties have been fighting each other in this seat since beginning. The fact of the matter is out of 14 lok Sabha elections held for this seat since 1957 ,the Congress party has won eight times while the BJP has been able to register its electoral victory in this seat six times. Though a few regional parties like UKD and subsequently the SP and the BSP also tried to mark their electoral presence, they have so far not been able to make their presence felt in this seat.
This time, while the incumbent Congress Party seems desperate to retain this Almora-Pithoragarh lok Sabha seat as it is being a home constituency of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, the BJP is not less concerned to regain this seat keeping in view its Mission 272 plus.
Apart from being a home turf, wining the Almora- Pithoragarh lok Sabha seat is also important for Chief Minister Rawat because popular verdict of the upcoming election in this seat will also reflect Congress led State Government's popularity amongst the people.
Besides, Chief Minister Rawat's prestige is also at stake in this seat as the Congress party has fielded none other than Chief Minister's handpicked candidate Pradeep Tamta who is presently representing this seat in the lok Sabha.
At the same time the BJP which narrowly lost this lok Sabha seat to Congress party in 2009 the general election has an opportunity to improve its show in the upcoming electoral battle when the Congress party is facing a lot of criticism because of its alleged failures to heal the wounds of natural disaster hit victims in border district Pithoragarh and other parts of the hill state, apart from other burning issues of unemployment, unprecedented level of inflation, corruption to name a few.
In the meanwhile, after filing the nomination papers BJP's Ajay Tamta, accompanied by party leaders said that the people are totally disappointed with the Congress led UPA Government. Only the BJP can meet the expectations of the people. Therefore I appeal to the people to support the BJP in the upcoming lok Sabha elections, he added.
Among other candidates who filed their nomination papers in Almora for the Almora-Pithoragarh parliamentary constituency amid tight security on Thursday, were B P Trikoti of the SP and B R Dhauni from the BSP. However, the nomination filing process passed off peacefully. In the meanwhile, a total nine candidates have so far filed nomination papers in Almora for the Almora-Pithoragarh parliamentary constituency.