The three-tier Panchayat polls scheduled to be held in three phases in Haridwar district in December would act as a litmus test for the ruling Congress, say the political experts. The notification confirming dates is now being awaited.
The last lok Sabha elections shell-shocked the Congress as riding on the crest of the Modi torrents, the former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank defeated the present CM Harish Rawat's wife Renuka Rawat from the high- voltage Haridwar constituency. The ruling party would pull out all stops to retaliate the drubbing that left the party nurse its wounds for a long time in the rural polls, as the contest would boil down to a personal one between the present and the former CM, add the observers.
The war of words has already begun, strengthening the impression that the each of the two camps would leave nothing to chance to humble the other.
Nishank who has succeeded in putting over a dozen of his followers in the rural poll fray keeps taking a swipe at the CM, ridiculing him as someone dishing out hollow promises, a charge that the Congress leader Ambrish Kumar has sought to counter by asking the rival to substantiate.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Kumar said, "The people here are counting days to teach the BJP lessons. The saffron party activists looted them in the form of commissions they received for projects. The percentage of commissions was as high as 52.5. The next Zila Panchayat president is all set to be from our party with the groundswell of support behind us growing," he said.
Reminded of the outcome of the lok Sabha poll from Haridwar, he said rural and Parliamentary polls should not be muddled together. "Things look ominous for the BJP everywhere. The recent Bihar polls have confirmed the trend. Here too they would bite the dust. The saffron leaders of the State combined together are no match for Harish Rawat," he said.
Rawat being projected by the Congress as the principal vote catcher for the rural polls, BJP and its face for the district Nishank are training the gun on the CM. "As the Haridwar MP, Harish Rawat had proved to be a man of false promises. He had announced projects with much fanfare which have remained unimplemented on the ground," Nishank said.
Smarting under the Congress onslaught over the Centre not clearing funds for the upcoming Ardh Kumbh Mela, he said the fund would be released soon. "The State Government is to blame as it has not sent any budget proposal to the Centre on the Mela. The Centre works through proper channels. The State Government's failure to act according to the norms leads to the delay of the release. They are now putting the blame in the Centre's courtyard to reap political dividends," the BJP leader added.