As the BJP gives final touches to its lok Sabha candidate list, three of its former Chief Ministers from Uttarakhand, are expected to throw their hats in the ring to maximise returns for the party from the hill State with five lS constituencies.
Former Chief Ministers —Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Maj Gen (retd) Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ — are keen to contest the lok Sabha polls if given a go ahead by the Central leadership. While Koshiyari is eyeing Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar lok Sabha seat, Khanduri could contest from Pauri Garhwal. ‘Nishank’ is also working on Hardwar as a possible constituency.
Koshiyari, the second Chief Minister of the State (2000-2001) after it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in November 2000, hopes to be pitted against the Congress MP KC Singh Baba. He is regularly visiting the constituency, which also consists of non-hilly Terrai region. “The people of Nainital have grown to love me over the years and I’am grateful to them,” said Koshiyari, indicating his interest in the constituency. When asked whether he was unofficially given a go ahead by the party leadership, he said the decision needs to be taken by Central Parliamentary Board of the party.
In 2001 Koshiyari replaced Nityanand Swami as the Chief Minister, but resigned after party’s defeat in the 2002. later, he became the leader of the Opposition in the State legislative Assembly. He is currently a Rajya Sabha member from the State. Khanduri is understood to have sounded that he was not averse to contesting from Pauri Garhwal lok Sabha seat. A former Union Transport minister (2000 to 2004) in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government, Khanduri was catapulted to the post of the State Chief Minister after BJP’s victory in 2007 Assembly elections in Uttarakhand.
He held the post till 2009 — until he was replaced by ‘Nishank’ who remained Chief Minister from June 2009 to September 2011 — when Khanduri was again given the command of the State close to Assembly polls. He finished his term in March 2012 when the Congress returned to power with a wafer thin majority. like the other two former Chief Ministers, Rs Nishank’ is also interested to contest lok Sabha poll, eying at Hardwar.
One of the former State Ministers, Madan Kaushik, is also learnt to have shown interest in the constituency. Interestingly, Khanduri had lost Assembly poll from Kotdwar in 2012 whereas ‘Nishank’ won his seat from Doiwala. “If former State Chief Ministers contest polls, it would be a moral booster for the party workers and may help party clinch at least four out of the five seats with the Modi wave already creating a favourable mood for the BJP”, said a senior party leader from the State
The BJP did not win a single seat from the State in the last lok Sabha poll. A recently conducted survey by India Today-C has predicted four of the five seats going to the BJP and one to the Congress. The BJP is also upbeat on account to its last year’s victory in four out of six municipal corporations in Uttarakhand. But Central leaders maintain that the BJP need to be careful about being “overconfident” as anointment of Harish Rawat as the new Chief Minister could help the Congress mobilise its support base.