It always has been Garhwal vs Kumaon in Uttarakhand, but politics brings them together when it comes to gaining power in the State.
Garhwal and Kumaon, two important parts of Uttarakhand, have different importance from a political point of view, along with the hills in both the areas some part also comes in the plain. Together, a separate geographical position is formed which is called the Terai region.
Both the BJP and the Congress can’t afford to fail or slip in either Kumaon or Garhwal as a poor performance will impact their chances of coming to power in Uttarakhand.
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The BJP had swept in both regions, winning in both the plains and the hills, in the last Assembly elections.
While Garhwal’s 41 seats continue to draw star campaigners of both the parties in the last leg of campaigning, Kumaon region is now a hotspot as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Congress CM hopeful Harish Rawat are in the fray from Khatima and Lalkuan seats respectively. Mr. Dhami and Mr. Rawat both hail from the Kumaon region.
CM Dhami is seeking to enter the State Assembly for the third consecutive term from his traditional seat Khatima. Congress has fielded Bhuvan Chandra Khapri against him.
Congress has selected Lalkuan for former CM Harish Rawat in Kumaon region. Congress sources said Mr. Rawat’s presence in Lalkuan will help the party improve its performance in Kumaon’s Terai region which has around 10 seats. Apart from representing Almora seat in Parliament, Mr. Rawat was MLA from Dharchula. the BJP has fielded Mohan Singh Bisht in Lalkuan him.
Though Kumaon is in political focus in this election due to the presence of both CM hopefuls, The BJP and Congress are both witnessing a close contest in almost every seat of the Garhwal region, comprising 11 seats in Haridwar, 10 in Dehradun and the remaining 20 seats in the hills.
The BJP is facing a major challenge to retain the Garhwal’s 33 seats it had bagged in 2017. The party has been highlighting the Centre’s major projects like the all-weather road connecting the “Char Dham” shrines and the Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail line, apart from the reconstruction of the Kedarnath shrine area. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed his first physical rally at Srinagar on Thursday, reiterated his statement that this decade belongs to Uttarakhand because of the fast infrastructure development under the BJP rule in the State.
On the other hand, the Congress has focused on the issues like inflation, unemployment and lack of basic facilities in the hills.
“In the last five years, the party has attempted to develop a strong organisation support base in this region. We have constituted our booth committees properly. So, we hope to perform well in the Garhwal’s hill areas,” said Prithvipal Singh, vice-president of the Pradesh Congress Committee.
In its manifesto, Congress has promised to cap the prices of LPG cylinders at ₹500. Other promises include free travel for women in State transport, filling up 57,000 vacancies in various government departments within a year of coming to power.
The BJP has also promised 50,000 government jobs to the youths and three free LPG cylinders to BPL households if it is voted to power.
Different concerns
However Garhwal and Kumaon are guided by separate sets of issues. While the hilly region is dominated by issues such as women’s empowerment, facilities for defence personnel and infrastructure development, the Terai belt is influenced by the hill and plain divide, besides the farm agitation.
Out of total 70 Assembly seats, 34 seats are in nine hill districts and 36 seats are in four plain districts. Haridwar, Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and some parts of Nainital fall in the plains. Here the number of Muslims, Dalits and farmers is more. Jaspur, Bajpur, Kichha, Sitarganj and Kashipur of Udham Singh Nagar are the seats where the impact of the farmer agitation was seen. There is a considerable presence of Muslim and Dalit voters in the seats of Haridwar district, for which the BJP, Congress, AAP and BSP are contesting.
In the hilly region, all eyes are on the Srinagar seat from where Congress’s State president Ganesh Godiyal is contesting against the senior BJP leader and minister Dhan Singh Rawat. Another important seat in this part is Kotdwar where BJP has fielded former chief minister B.C. Khanduri’s daughter Ritu Khanduri against senior Congress leader and former minister Surendra Singh Negi.
In Haridwar seat, BJP’s State president Madan Kaushik is seeking to enter the Assembly for the fifth consecutive term. Haridwar is known as the stronghold of the saffron party and the Congress has fielded a local face Satpal Brahamchari against Mr. Kaushik.
In Haridwar’s neighbouring seat – Haridwar (rural) — former Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s daughter Anupama Rawat is trying her luck to enter the Assembly against the BJP stalwart and Minister Yatishwaranand. In 2017 Assembly polls, Mr. Yatishwaranand had defeated Mr. Rawat in Haridwar (rural seat).
Addressing the woes of all the three regions in the State and balancing the political factors has the keys of power for both the big players in the state — be it Congress or BJP. Uttarakhand will go to poll on February 14.
