BJP sweeps state, wins all five seats
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
The BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls by winning all the five parliamentary seats in Uttarakhand. Former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari defeated Congress candidate KC Singh Baba, by winning a margin of over 2,84,717 votes in the Nainital parliamentary constituency.

Over 6,36,769 votes were polled for Koshiyari and over 3,52,052 votes were polled for the Congress candidate.

Former Chief Minister BC Khanduri defeated Congress rival Harak Singh Rawat.Over 4,05,690 votes were polled for Khanduri, while over 2,21,164 votes were polled for Rawat.

Former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank registered an impressive win over Congress candidate and Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s wife Renuka Rawat in Haridwar parliamentary constituency by a margin of over 1,77,822 votes.

Over 5,92,320 votes were polled for Nishank, while over 414498 votes were polled for congress candidate Renuka Rawat.

In Tehri parliamentary constituency, BJP candidate Mala Raj Lakshmi Shah defeated Saket Bahuguna by a margin of 1,92,503 votes. Over 4,46,733 votes were polled for Shah, while over 2,54,230 votes were polled for Saket Bahuguna.

In Almora parliamentary constituency, BJP candidate Ajay Tamta defeated Congress candidate Pradeep Tamta by a margin of over 95,690 votes. “Not only did we manage to win all the five parliamentary seats in Uttarakhand, but we repeated the feat that was accomplished when the NDA came to power for the first time in the country,” said BJP Uttarakhand chief Teerath Singh Rawat.

All the three former chief ministers fielded by the BJP, managed impressive wins. BC Khanduri, who lost his Kotdawar seat in the 2012 state Assembly election, it was matter of salvaging lost pride. “I humbly submit myself to the verdict given by the people of the state. They have again reposed faith in me. It is a sweet victory for me,” said Khanduri.

Though Koshiyari managed win with the highest votes among the BJP candidates, former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal too proved his mettle by winning the Haridwar seat.

Former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s son saw a second time defeat at the hands of BJP candidate Mala Raj Lakshmi Shah in the Tehri parliamentary constituency. Earlier, he was defeated by Shah in the Tehri Lok Sabha bye-elections in October 2012.

Due the victory margin of the BJP candidates, the vote share of the BJP in the state is at 55.3 per cent, while the vote percentage of the Congress is 34 per cent.

Interestingly, as soon as the counting commenced this morning, all the BJP candidates managed to register early leads over their rival Congress candidates.

“The results are unprecedented, but we will have to analyse where we went wrong. We were late in declaring the names of the candidates for the elections,” said Yashpal Arya, Uttarakhand Congress chief.

Winners

The people voted for the BJP to bring in a nationalist leader, who could fight corruption. They have voted the BJP as the Congress MP only faked claims of performance, but did nothing for the local people.

Ajay Tamta, BJP candidate from Almora

It is a reflection of the people’s will to make Narendra Modi the next Prime Minister of our country.

Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, BJP candidate from Nainital

I am overwhelmed, but not surprised by the affection and faith shown by the voters of Haridwar in the BJP.

Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, BJP candidate from Haridwar

The people of Tehri Garhwal have reposed their faith in me and I will try to live up to their expectations once again.

Mala Raj Lakshmi Shah, BJP candidate from Tehri Garhwal

I humbly submit myself to the verdict given by the people of the state. They have once again reposed there faith in me, and it is a sweet victory.

Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd), BJP candidate from Pauri Garhwal

As BJP comes to power, it is party time for workers
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
As soon as the results of the Uttarakhand BJP winning all the five seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls were confirmed, there were jubilations all around. The BJP workers reached the BJP headquarters accompanied with garlands and drum beaters. The road leading to the BJP office was choc-a-block as all roads led to the BJP office.

“All the BJP candidates have performed exceptionally well. We must credit our party workers and Narendra Modi for this victory,” said Teerath Singh Rawat, BJP Uttarakhand chief.

The BJP workers burst into spontaneous dancing as one by one the leaders began arriving at the BJP office.

Similar scenes were witnessed at the Maharana Pratap Sports College where counting of votes was held. The BJP workers burst into a spontaneous dance outside the venue as soon as the BJP candidate and winner from Tehri parliamentary seat Mala Raj Laxmi Shah came to collect her certificate from the District Magistrate. “The people of Tehri have elected me again with a bigger margin. The responsibility that they have entrusted me is no doubt daunting but I will come good,” she said. Mala was accompanied by her daughter and son-in law.

As most of the winning candidates were still at their respective constituencies, the BJP workers were waiting for their return for another round of celebrations.

Meanwhile, due to hot weather, the BJP workers had a difficult time arranging fresh garlands for their leaders but that did not deter their enthusiasm as most of them went out of their way to get the scarce commodity at exorbitant prices.

Cong defeat a political jolt for Harish Rawat
SMA Kazmi
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
The convincing defeat of the Congress in all five Lok Sabha seats of Uttarakhand has come as a big political jolt for the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who was brought in by the party high command to stem the sagging fortunes of the party ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

Harish Rawat replaced Vijay Bahuguna as Chief Minister on February 1, 2014, following reports of disenchantment of the common voters with the state Congress government in the aftermath of the natural disaster of June 2013. The natural calamity that hit the state in June 2013 killed more than 5000 pilgrims, tourists and locals and devastated homes, hearths and infrastructure on a large scale in the hill region of the state. The Vijay Bahuguna government was blamed for inadequate relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction works and had to go.

Harish Rawat did try to stem the rot by taking more than 3,000 decisions concerning the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the state but it seems that it was too late to win back the confidence of the voters across the state. The rising inflation and double anti-incumbency of the Central as well as the state governments also led the voters to get swayed by the Narendra Modi wave which swept across the state.

The infighting in the Uttarakhand Congress also resulted in the failure of the party in putting up a united fight against the political onslaught launched by the BJP and the RSS affiliates in the state. The BJP and the RSS have a strong base in Uttarakhand and the workers of the RSS spread out in each and every constituency to campaign for the BJP and making Narendra Modi the next prime minister of the country.

On the other hand, Harish Rawat was handicapped by the absence of support from other senior state Congress leaders who seemed disinterested. A sulking former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna refused to fight the election from Tehri Garhwal and instead choose his son Saket Bahuguna for the contest. He confined his campaigning to the Tehri Garhwal seat only.

The defection of senior leader Satpal Maharaj to BJP also dented the chances of the Congress, particularly in the Pauri Garhwal seat, which he represented in the outgoing Lok Sabha.

Harish Rawat took upon himself the burden of carrying the campaign of the party across the state and addressed hundreds of election meetings. He had the inkling of the outcome of the elections as he made emotional appeals to the voters in the native Almora constituency to save his prestige. But to no avail.

He found himself confined in Haridwar seat where he fielded his wife Renuka Rawat. He had himself won the seat for Congress after a gap of 25 years in the 2009 Lok sabha polls and it was a matter of his own political stature to ensure a victory for his wife. He worked very hard to ensure various communities and groups vote for Congress but it seems that the Narendra Modi wave prevailed.

“We were not able to convince the voters and we respect the people’s verdict. The party leaders will sit and analyse the results and then start working afresh,” said Chief Minister Harish Rawat after conceding defeat.

Gloom boom

• Rising inflation and double anti-incumbency of the Central and state governments also led voters to get swayed by the Narendra Modi wave
• Harish Rawat did not get support from senior state Congress leaders who seemed disinterested

From Haridwar, Nishank romps home with huge margin
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, May 16
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, five-time legislator and former CM, showed his political stature, poll management skills and mass hold on the public by winning his maiden election from Haridwar with a huge margin of 1 .72 lakh plus votes.

The former CM extensively focused in rural segments like Bhagwanpur, Khanpur, Lakshar while he made sure minority-dominated segments such as Piran Kaliyar, Roorkee, Jhabreda and Jwalapur were not left behind. This proved vital as he got majority votes from all these segments, which took up his win margin tally to one lakh plus. Add to this the tally of votes from Dharampur, Doiwala and Rishikesh Assembly segments of Dehradun district, and this led to a record margin victory for Nishank.

While Congress banked on national level political leaders, film stars during the campaign, barring lone Narendra Modi rally at Roorkee, Nishank went on his own reaching to maximum voters. Regional parties like the BSP, Samajwadi Party and the UKD fielding weak candidates too made road to victory easy for Ramesh Pokhriyal.

An elated Nishank said he was overwhelmed but not surprised to see the affection and faith shown by voters of Haridwar. He said all major issues as well as local issues will be looked on priority basis in his tenure as MP.

Warning Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Nishank said that his wife has lost, '' and now it is the turn of CM himself as soon Congress-led coalition government will get toppled.'' Thanking BJP legislators from Haridwar Madan Kaushik, Swami Yatishwaranand, Chandrasekhar Bhattewala, Aadesh Chauhan, Sanjay Gupta, Nishank saidthier contribution is immense and now they all will work to strengthen the party base in all segments.

Khanduri wins fifth time from Pauri
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
BJP candidate from Pauri Garhwal BC Khanduri defeated Congress' Harak Singh Rawat by a margin of 1,84,526 votes. Khanduri got 4,05,690 votes whereas Rawat polled 2,21,164 votes.

Khanduri had earlier won the Pauri Garhwal seat in 1991, 1998, 1999, 2004. This is his fifth win from the constituency.

As soon as the counting began this morning, Khanduri was leading from the first round. By 12 noon, he was already ahead of his rival by a margin of over 1 lakh votes. The victory has also helped BC Khanduri overcome his Kotdwar Assembly seat loss to the Congress in the last Assembly elections.

tehri garhwal ls seat
Modi speech turned the tide in favour of Mala Raj Laxmi Shah
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
Lacklustre campaigning by the Uttarakhand BJP workers who had failed to build a rapport with the sitting MP and BJP candidate Mala Raj Laxmi Shah, who was again renominated from the Tehri parliamentary for the 2014 Lok Sabha, dramatically received a fillip after the BJP prime ministerial candidate Narinder Modi addressed a rally in Herbertpur in April.

Likening her to Vijay Raje Scindia and praising her promptness in helping the disaster victims in Uttarkashi, even as the then Vijay Bahuguna government looked the other way, in his speech Modi managed to strike a chord with the people and turned the tide in favour of Mala Raj Laxmi Shah.

''The message was not missed by the thousands who converged for the rally. It was the failure of the Congress government to act when the state faced its worst crisis that Modi managed to convey to the people. It helped Mala consolidate her position and unite the warring BJP leaders who were unhappy with the manner in which she had been functioning. The results are for all to see,'' emphasised Trivender Singh Rawat, BJP national secretary.

In fact a victory here may help the member of erstwhile Tehri royalty stake her claim in the Modi Cabinet. In the 2012 byelection, Mala defeated the Congress candidate Saket Bahuguna by a margin of over 22,694 votes. In a rematch in 2014, Mala emphatically defeated her nearest rival Saket Bahuguna of the Congress Party by polling 4,46,733 votes.

Call it the effect of the saffron wave sweeping the state, Mala led in all the 13 Assembly segments leaving her rival Saket Bahuguna far behind.

In the Assembly segments falling under Dehradun district Mala polled a total of 55,386 in Raipur Assembly segment, 46,719 in Dehradun cantonment , 41,168 in Rajpur Assembly segment, 46,073 in Sahaspur and 40,748 in Vikasnagar. Barring Chakrata Assembly segment where Saket Bahuguna polled a total of 23162 votes, Mala led in all the seven Assembly segments.

''We managed to wrest Assembly segments falling under Tehri and Uttarkashi districts, the strongholds of the Congress. It was all due to the efforts of the BJP party workers,'' said Mala Raj Laxmi Shah.

BJP's Koshiyari beats KC Baba from Nainital
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, May 16
The landslide victory of the BJP over the Congress from Nainital is being attributed to the Modi wave sweeping the hill state and the double anti-incumbency wave faced by ruling Congress at the Centre as well as the state. BJP candidate Bhagat Singh Koshiyari defeated his nearest Congress rival and sitting Congress MP KC Singh Baba by a huge margin of 2,84,717 votes. The Congress campaign in the absence of any popular support remained lacklustre as it raised the issue of Koshiyari being an outsider, which did not cut much ice with the voters.

The Congress, which was banking on its traditional vote bank of Muslims and Dalits found that this time Dalit and OBC voters deserted the party. The only saving grace was the Muslim votes which probably went in favour of Congress due to complete polarisation of the voters on communal basis. Moreover, the BJP simply rode on Modi wave and the down-to-earth personality of its candidate Koshiyari, who is currently a Rajya Sabha member. “We could not publicise our works whereas Opposition parties succeeded in misguiding the people,” claimed KC Singh Baba, after conceding defeat. Baba thanked the people for their support in the last tenure and hoped that goodwill among the communities will remain in tact.

Bhagat Singh Koshiyari of BJP polled 6,36,769 votes as compared to 3,52,052 votes polled by Congress candidate KC Singh Baba. The BSP candidate Laik Ahmed secured 59,249 votes while the poet-turned-politician Balli Singh Cheema of AAP could get only 13,472 votes. The Samajwadi Party also performed poorly as its candidate Avtar Singh could get only 9825 votes.

''As the voting percentage rose to 65 from 55 per cent last time, it was evident that voters are voting for a change,” said Jahangir Raju, a local resident.

Modi wave helped Ajay Tamta win from Almora
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, May 16
BJP candidate Ajay Tamta's victory over Congress candidate Pradeep Tamta from Almora (reserve) today indicated that the Narendra Modi wave was blowing across the Himalayan region and the emotional appeal of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, a native of Almora, to the people to support the Congress to save him went in vain. Pradeep Tamta's defeat is a personal loss for Harish Rawat since Almora remained his seat till it was reserved. Pradeep Tamta is his known protégé.

Ajay Tamta defeated Pradeep Tamta, the sitting Congress MP, by a margin of 95,690 votes. Ajay Tamta secured 3,48,186 votes while Pradeep Tamta got 2,52,496 votes.

“We have worked sincerely for the past 10 years for the uplift of the common people and our government empowered them through various historical decisions. However, the people could not understand these policies and were move by the Narendra Modi wave," said Pradeep Tamta.

However, the Congress led in the Dharchula Assembly segment only despite the Modi wave and anti-incumbency due to alleged non-performance of the Congress-led governments both at Centre and in the state," said Mathura Datt Joshi, ,Congress spokesman. Local BJP leaders attributed the Ajay Tamta's win to the willingness of the people to see Modi as the next PM of the country. 

Except Dharchula, BJP took lead in all Assembly segments
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, May 16
Barring the Dharchula Assembly segment in Almora, all other segments voted for BJP candidates on both seats of Almora and Nainital, in the Kumaon region.

According to figures available with Almora returning officer, the BJP won by a margin of over 95,000 votes. The margin of votes in BJP’s favour remained the highest in all six Assembly segments of Almora district, where it secured a lead of 36,815 votes, followed by 22,675 votes in Champawat district and the six Assembly segments of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar district where it was ahead by 18,000 and 18,154 votes, respectively, said the returning officer.

Dharchula assembly segment was the only exception in all 14 Assembly segments that withstood the Modi wave and gave Congress a victory by over 2,521 votes. Congress obtained 20,399 votes against 17,878 votes polled for the BJP, said an election officer.

In Nainital, the BJP won by a margin of over 2,84,717 votes over the Congress. The BJP secured 6,36,769 votes while the Congress secured only 3,52,052 votes.

3 ex-CMs, all from BJP, make it to Lok Sabha
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
Three former Uttarakhand Chief Ministers, all from BJP, have made it to the Lok Sabha this time.

UP

Ramesh Pokhriyal bjp Haridwar Margin: 1,77,822

bs koshiyari  bjp Nainital Margin: 2,84,717

bc khanduri bjp Pauri Garhwal Margin: 1,84,526

Besides, BC Khanduri, who had already been in the Lok Sabha four times, got elected this time too from Pauri Garhwal, former BJP chief ministers Bhagat Singh Koshiyari from Nainital and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank from Haridwar also found entry into the16th Lok Sabha. Both Koshiyari and Nishank will be making entry into the Lok Sabha for the first time. Koshiyari has been member of the Rajya Sabha but will be representing the state in the Lok Sabha for the maiden time. Nishank has never been member of either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.

Down

Renuka Rawat  Congress Haridwar Margin: 1,77,822

KC Singh Baba Congress Nainital Margin: 2,84,717

Harak Rawat  Congress Pauri Garhwal Margin: 1,84,526

Interestingly, all the three have been from time and again leading various factions of BJP in the state and vying for the coveted post of chief minister whenever the party has come to power in the state. After the formation of Uttarakhand in 2000, both Nishank and Koshiyari were at logger heads as both wanted to lead the party in the state. The party then favoured the late Nityanand Swami as chief minister over both of them. But the BJP lost first the Assembly elections in the state in 2002 to the Congress.

Subsequently, when BJP came back to power in 2007, BC Khanduri was made the chief minister. But then Nishank and Koshiyari continued to wage a tirade against Khanduri and finally sealed his exit when BJP lost 2009 parliamentary election, losing all five Lok Sabha seats of the state, and the BJP high command replaced Khanduri with Nishank. The war between different factions of BJP did not stop here and now Khanduri and Koshiyari were up against Nishank.

Shortly before the Assembly elections in the state in 2012, the BJP went for yet another replacement and re-instated BC Khanduri as Chief Minister, removing Nishank, who was allegedly continuously being charged of corruption. The BJP did try to encash in on its slogan “Khanduri hai zaruree,” but lost the Assembly election to the Congress very narrowly.

The three BJP leaders have never been comfortable with each other. The party this Lok Sabha election pitted all the three from various Lok sabha constituencies and interestingly all the three won, probably riding Narendra Modi wave.

While Khanduri defeated state Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat, Koshiyari gave a drubbing to sitting Congress MP from Nanital KC Singh Baba. On the other hand, Nishank who was poised for a tough battle against Renuka Rawat, wife of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, won handsomely. BS Koshiyari defeated KC Singh Baba by a huge margin of 2,84,717 votes, BC Khanduri defeated Harak Singh Rawat by a margin of 1,84,526 votes and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank defeated Congress Renuka Rawat by margin of 1,77,822 votes.

More importantly, the shift of the trio from the state politics will give the second rung leadership of the BJP an opportunity to further their political career.

Wife’s defeat setback for CM Harish Rawat
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, May 16
“Buy 1, get 1 free”. This was the routine slogan that Congress candidate Renuka Rawat used to raise in her election rallies to voters, pointing indirectly towards the benefit Haridwar voters will get if she gets elected ,as her husband is Uttarakhand Chief Minister.

But this did not go down well with the voters as they, instead, opted for BJP candidate Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who won this seat by a record margin of 1.72 lakh plus votes. Nishank secured a total of 5,78,121 votes while Renuk Rawat of Congress could get 4,06,071 votes. Haji Mohd. Islam of BSP secured the third position by getting 1,09,796 votes while former DGP Kanchan Bhattacharya Chaudhary, who was AAP candidate, could muster only 18,086 votes.

This is being seen now as a major defeat for Harish Rawat, who is currently sitting parliamentarian from Haridwar parliamentary constituency. Speculations of toppling of his government have been further fuelled by this defeat.

Since his record 1, 25,440 lakh margin victory in 2009, Haridwar and Harish Rawat became politically synonymous with each other. Two to three days in a week, Harish Rawat used to visit and spend in his constituency only, deepening his foothold among the public. Such was his impact that during a pre-poll survey by the BJP in Uttarakhand, only Haridwar was shown as the lone seat which could have gone to Congress, owing to Harish Rawat’s development works and presence.

This was the major reason that he opted for his wife Renuka Rawat to represent his constituency, after he became Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on February 1.

Harish Rawat campaigned intensely in Haridwar to ensure win for his wife, who had lost her maiden election in 2004 from Almora constituency.

To ensure Renuka’s win, Harish Rawat made truce with his political rivals like ex-MP Harpal Sathi, ex-legislators Ambrish Kumar and Virender Singh, and inducted municipal chairpersons of Rishikesh and Roorkee into the party fold.

But despite his efforts, Renuka’s loss has put questions on his political stature among voters of this constituency. The deadline for contesting Uttarakhand Assembly expires on July 31. This is another task cut out for him.

Talking to TNS Renuka Rawat said that she along with her husband had intensely campaigned in the constituency but the spree of development works carried out by Harish Rawat failed to turn into votes. “It is the wish of the public to see BJP regime or the so called change to bring in good days.Uttarakhand-led government will show that our model of development is still better than the media hyped one,'' said Rawat.

City Congress president OP Chauhan remarked that Dalits ,the traditional vote bank of Congress, shifted to BJP, which resulted in the defeat of Congress in the Chief Minister’s den.

Cong headquarters wear deserted look
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
The Congress headquarters in Dehradun gave a desolate look here today as the party suffered a huge loss in the Lok Sabha elections.

No activity could be seen in the morning at the Congress Bhavan. Silence prevailed at the bhavan and it was only later in the day that a few office staff came to the bhavan.

Most of the Congress ministers at the Bijapur guest house gave a desolate look. Yashpal Arya, state Congress president, was only seen at the guest house, while other ministers kept themselves away from the media.

The defeat of Renuka Rawat, wife of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, in Haridwar further shocked the Congress in the state as they were expecting to win the Haridwar seat out of the five Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Maharaj asks CM to quit
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
BJP leader Satpal Maharaj has greeted the people of the country and Uttarakhand on the landslide win of the party in the Lok Sabha elections. He sought Chief Minister Harish Rawat's resignation, holding him responsible for the Congress defeat in the state.

In a statement issued here today, Satpal Maharaj said the nation would witness speedy growth under the leadership of Narendra Modi. He added the people of Uttarakhand had voted for the BJP candidates on all five seats as they approved of the Modi development agenda.

Attacking Harish Rawat, Maharaj said he even failed to make his wife Renuka Rawat win from the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat. Harish Rawat should now resign on the moral grounds taking responsibility for the party's defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, Maharaj added.

BSP emerges third force
Parwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has emerged the third force in four constituencies of the state while in the Tehri Garhwal constituency the Aam Aadmi Party was ahead of it.

Far from being giving a close fight, the regional parties and Independent candidates in the five constituencies got a taste of defeat when the results were announced.

In Hardiwar where the maximum number of candidates were contesting, BSP candidate Haji Mohammad Islam was third with 113,663 votes. Laik Ahmed, paty candidate from the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar seat, managed to secure 59,245 votes while in the Pauri Garhwal constituency Dheer Singh Bisht got 9,250 votes.

Bahadur Ram Dhauni of the BSP, who contested against bigwigs like Ajay Tamta of the BJP and Pradeep Tamta of the Congress) from the Almora (reserve) seat, got 14,150 votes. In Tehri Garhwal, party candidate Shishpal Singh with 11,538 votes stood fourth after the BJP, Congress and AAP candidates.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) candidates fared poorly in all seats. Bhagwati Prasad Trikoti, SP candidate from the Almora seat, gave a poor performance and could secure only 1,851 votes while Anita Saini from Haridwar managed 5,765 votes. Avtaar Singh of the SP secured 9,825 votes in the Nainital seat.

The performance of the Left parties was also dismal. Kailash Pandey, CPI (ML) candidate from from the Nainital seat, got 1,530 votes, Indresh Maikhuri secured 7,470 votes in Pauri Garhwal and Vijay Kumar got only 2,392 votes in the Almora seat.

CPI (M) candidate from Tehri Garhwal Shiv Prasad Deoli managed to get 6,577 votes while CPI candidate from Pauri Garhwal Narendra Singh Negi got 6,525 votes.

In Haridwar, Kalyankari Jantantrik Party candidate Ramnaresh Yadav got 1,117 votes, Vishal Chowdhary of the Shiv Sena 1,043 votes, Anand Kumar Verma of the Hindustan Krantikari Dal 710 votes, Mukesh Saini of the Bahujan Mukti Dal 664 votes, VK Kampani of the Poorvanchal Rashtriya Congress 637 votes, Javed of the Akhil Bharatiya Muslim League (Secular) 614 votes, and Pervez Akil of the All India Minorities Front secured only 454 votes. Among Independent candidates, Razia Beg got the maximum of 3,741 votes.

In Tehri Garhwal, Japinder Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal got 1,958 votes, Satendra Sharma of the Naya Daur Party 878 votes, Navneet Singh Gosain of the Rashtriya Uttarakhand Party 1,629 votes. In Almora, Amar Prakash of the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party 2,045 votes.

Now, U’khand govt in trouble
SMA Kazmi
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
A sweeping victory for the BJP on all five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand could be the beginning of trouble for the state government led by Harish Rawat.

Even before the election results were announced, state BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister BS Koshiyari, had predicted the fall of the state government.

Satpal Maharaj, who recently defected from the Congress to join the BJP, had been claiming that the state government would not survive after the defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls.

The government, which has a razor-thin majority of one seat, is dependent on the support of seven legislators of the Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), a conglomerate of three legislators from the BSP, three Independents and a lone UKD legislator.

Moreover, Harish Rawat also faces danger from at least three Congress legislators who owe allegiance to Satpal Maharaj. Mantri Prasad Naithani, state Education Minister and convener of the PDF, is a known Satpal Maharaj supporter.

Sensing trouble, Harish Rawat even before the declaration of the results made seven of the Congress MLAs belonging to the Vijay Bahuguan faction parliamentary secretaries yesterday. The move was aimed at placating them and keeping the Congress flock together amid rumours that BJP leaders are in touch with them.

According to Congress sources, Harish Rawat, in an effort to consolidate his position, has planned to reshuffle his ministry by dropping some Congress ministers and inducting members of the PDF into his ministry.

Already, four of the seven PDF legislators, Mantri Prasad Naithani, Harish Chander Durgapal (both Independent) Surinder Rakesh (BSP) and Pritam Singh Panwar (UKD) are ministers while Dinesh Dhanai (Independent), Haridass and Sarvat Karim Ansari (BSP) have been given ministerial-level posts. To win them over, Harish Rawat could induct some of them into his ministry.

AAP: MD of PTCUL causing losses to state exchequer

Dehradun, May 16
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists have alleged that Managing Director of Power Transmission Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (PTCUL) SS Yadav is causing losses to state exchequer by deducting his full salary from the department, despite the fact that Yadav is withdrawing his pension from Haryana Electricity Distribution Corporation (South), Hisar. They claimed that Chief Minister Harish Rawat has ordered an enquiry into this matter.

Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, RTI activist and member of AAP, Dr Rajesh Pancholi, has alleged that Yadav has not disclosed his pension amount before joining PTCUL years ago. Thus the state exchequer incurred loss worth lakhs of rupees. He claimed that Yadav should deduct his pension from his salary, which he is withdrawing from the department.

He said that acting as officiating managing director of Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), Yadav sanctioned tenders worth lakhs of rupees to procure electricity from a Haryana-based company. — TNS

Waste Warriors work to maintain cleanliness in Doon
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16
Waste Warriors, an NGO, is working hard towards restoring the pristine beauty of Dehradun by cleaning various areas of the city.

Its volunteers cleared 7 kg of garbage from Astley Hall during the District Magistrate'?s clean campus campaign in January. “With financial support from local businesses the NGO continued to maintain cleanliness of the area on a daily basis. A full time waste worker has been stationed there, the unsightly dump site cleared and dustbins installed,” said Jodie Underhill, CEO of the NGO, In a press note issued here yesterday.

A drive was carried out in the area opposite the Congress office recently and construction waste generated after the MDDA installed streetlights and railings was removed. A team of six interns from the Indian Institute of Management, Indore, and local volunteers cleaned the area in two days. About 1,000 kg of construction waste was removed and loaded into trucks of Waste Warriors and taken to the trenching ground. According to the Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2000, this kind of waste is supposed to be collected and disposed of separately from the municipal waste as it can be used for the construction purposes. However, no separate area has been allocated which is something the Waste Warriors team will like to see. "This issue has already been discussed with the MDDA and the NGO plans to take it up with the Mayor and the District Magistrate," she added.

“The volunteers also cleaned a wall covered with posters so that a wall mural could be painted there. There are several dangers and health hazards in the area that the NGO intends to tackle. Open gutters and also electricity cables posed a risk of electrocution to the people and stray animals,” said Jodie.

Photography exhibition at Unison University

Dehradun, May 16
The IMS Unison University organised a photography exhibition for its students and other schools across the city here yesterday. The Hobbies Club- Photography of the IMS organised the exhibition.

Notably, the participating students had to submit the hard copy and soft copy of at least 12 photographs along with captions, which would be judged by experts. — TNS