Among the 70 seats up for grabs in Uttarakhand Assembly election due on February 15, at the centre of attraction are seven constituencies — Chakrata, Vikasnagar, Dharampur, Narendranagar, Kotdwar, Bazpur, Jaspur and Khanpur. For, here the battle-hardened giants are in the fray with the contests expected to be keen ones. Notably, fate of the Congress ‘turncoats’ who defected to Bharatiya Janata Party after raising the banner of revolt against the ‘dictatorial’ leadership of Chief Minister Harish Rawat would be decided in some of them. According to the Congress insiders, Harish Rawat is hell-bent on making these dissidents face the drubbing to settle personal scores with them.
Subodh Uniyal who, along with eight others, including the former CM Vijay Bahuguna, was disqualified from his membership of the Vidhan Sabha under the anti-defection law is trying his electoral luck on a BJP ticket from the Narendra Nagar constituency in Tehri district from where he was elected in the last election as a Congress candidate. Importantly, he was one out of the two MlAs who the former CM Bahuguna was keen to induct into the Cabinet.
Similarly, wheels of things turning, Dr Shailendra Mohan Singhal who remained triumphant from Jaspur seat in Udham Singh Nagar district while contesting on Congress ticket since the 2002 election — the first one of the State — is now contesting on BJP ticket.
Kunwar Pranav Singh ‘Champion’ who is known for his penchant to flash firearm at the drop of his hat is contesting from his home turf Khanpur. Haridwar SSP Rajiv Swarup paid the price for Champion’s romance with firearm as the Election Commission caught him flaunting it while he was on his way to file nomination. He hogged the headlines a few months ago as a violent mob stormed into his house and torched some vehicles with the fracas assuming a communal colour. He was in the sulk since the time Congress formed the Government in the State, post 2012 election, on the crutches of PDF, the ragtag alliance of six non-Congress, non-BJP MlAs, something that deprived him of the coveted place in the cabinet.
Bazpur is in the thick of interest because the MlA Yashpal Arya, a important Dalit face of the Congress, who left the party to join BJP along with his son Sanjeev Arya a few days before the nomination process started, is contesting from the seat. There were enough hints though that he would go for severance of his ties with Congress as he was inclined to go in a cocoon of seclusion whenever the party refused to address his grievances. There were several instances when none other than the CM went the whole hog himself to placate him back to the party’s mainstream politics. Observers said his re-nomination by Congress from Bazpur remaining beyond any shadow of doubt, he took the plunge into the saffron camp to ensure nomination for his son. Keen to woo him into its folds, given his clout among the Dalits, BJP agreed to award ticket to his son from the prestigious Nainital constituency, risking rebellion in its own ranks.
Preetam Singh, the MlA from Chakrata in Dehradun district and the Home Minister of the State, is facing a tough challenge with the wife of the State BJP’s chief spokesperson Munna Singh Chouhan, Madhu Chouhan trying hard to give Singh a run for his money. Madhu is the former Dehradun district panchayat president. She was in the contest in previous elections too. Vikasnagar, another seat in Dehradun district, is grabbing attention for its characteristic feature of taking turns to elect its representative. MlA Navprabhat, who was inducted into the Cabinet by the CM a few months ago, is trying his electoral luck against former MlA Munna Singh Chouhan.
They have been facing each other since the maiden election of the State in 2002 with their fate favouring them by turns.
While in 2002, Navprabhat won the seat Munna won in 2007 and again Navprabhat turned the table on the his rival in 2012. This time, things are standing in a delicate balance, hinting at a tough contest in the offing.
Dharampur MlA Dinesh Aggrawal who has already achieved a hat trick from the same constituency is facing Dehradun Mayor and senior BJP leader Vinod Chamoli this time round. Whether Aggrawal remains on the winning streak for the fourth time in a row depends on him beating the anti-incumbency. However, the presence of 45,000 Muslim voters in the 1.85 lakh- strong electorate with the possibility of their en bloc voting for him is helping Aggrawal breathe a bit easy.
Kotdwar which earned fame after its electorate drubbed the BJP chief ministerial face Maj Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri in the Assembly election-2012, is poised to see another nail-biting seesaw between the ‘rebel’ Harak Singh Rawat contesting on BJP ticket and the sitting Congress MlA Surendra Singh Negi who proved the giant killer the last time, leaving BJP shell-shocked.
With the Thakurs sealing the fate of the contenders thanks to their numerical clout, both the contenders of the rival camps are Takurs.