With the schedule of local bodies election being finalised and the notification being issued in Uttarakhand, mayoral ticket hopefuls in the BJP and Congress have intensified their efforts to secure the party ticket in Dehradun. Though a few names are shortlisted in both these major parties, there is still confusion regarding who will be chosen by the parties to contest the election to the post of Dehradun’s Mayor.
In the BJP, the sitting Mayor Vinod Chamoli and party leader Umesh Agrawal are seen as the stronger contenders for the party ticket. Though Chamoli is said to have incurred the displeasure of a faction in the party by purportedly shifting allegiance from one chief minister to another, he has his strong points too. Observers point out that Agrawal who was also the chairman of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam for some time, is seen mostly as a leader of the business fraternity. He has played a more active role in getting the issues of the business fraternity addressed and is not seen as enjoying acceptance in a wider section of society but is close to a former chief minister. Chamoli on the other hand enjoys wider acceptance and has some achievements to his credit which may work in his favour.
In the Congress leader of Opposition in the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun, Ashok Verma, State PCC vice president Suryakant Dhasmana and former Dehradun mayor Monrama Dobriyal Sharma are seen as the chief contenders for the party ticket. Of these three, Verma and Sharma are seen as stronger contenders than Dhasmana because while Verma has been active at the municipal level, Sharma has past experience and may also benefit from the demand in some sections of the party to field a woman candidate.
The Congress is slated to announce the name of its mayoral candidate by April 8, while the BJP is slated to do it a few days later. Meanwhile, the ticket hopefuls are trying to capitalise on their strengths and garner support within the party to secure the ticket.