Victory for political heavyweight Madan Kaushik
Haridwar, April 30
Though on field it were mayoral candidates Manoj Garg (BJP) and Swami Rishishwaranand (Congress) contesting, in reality it was a contest between two heavyweight politicians of Haridwar. While Madan Kaushik pressed for Garg’s candidature, it was Harish Rawat who sought ticket from the party high command for Swami Rishishwaranand.

BJP wins majority of top seats in Kumaon, too
Pithoragarh, April 30
Independent candidates played spoilsport for the Congress in the civic bodies’ elections enabling the BJP to win a majority of the seats of Mayor and chairman in all five hill districts of the Kumaon region.

Independents capture maximum number of ward seats in state
Dehradun, April 30
The BJP's domination over it's rival Congress was complete in the civic body elections, the results of which were announced today. However, the Independents, too, performed exceptionally well by winning the maximum number of ward seats in the state.

Emphatic win for Congress in Mussoorie MC elections
Mussoorie, April 30
In a reversal of the trend in the state, the Congress Party completely decimated the BJP by winning the Municipal Council elections for the post of president in Mussoorie today.

Dehradun, April 30
BJP candidate and sitting Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli won the mayoral election for the second time, defeating Congress candidate Suryakant Dhasmana by 22,912 votes. Congress candidate Suryakant Dhasmana secured 57,618 votes.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Rajni Rawat got 46,689 votes. Manmohan Lakehra of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) could secure only 3,302 votes.

Sitting Mayor Vinod Chamoli was again able to secure the mandate of the people of Doon city. He was first elected Mayor in the last civic election held in 2008. In that election, he had defeated Rajni Rawat, who had fought as an Independent. Congress candidate Surat Singh Negi was third.

This time again Rajni Rawat played spoilsport for the ruling Congress party which had lot of stakes in winning the mayoral seat in the capital city. Rajni Rawat improved her tally of votes over the previous election. In the last civic poll, she had secured 44,000 votes, pushing the Congress to the third spot, but this time, she secured 46,689 votes, cutting sharply into the Congress vote bank and paving the way for the smooth victory for the sitting BJP Mayor.

It was the second defeat of Congress candidate Suryakant Dhasmana at the hands of Vinod Chamoli. In 1997, both had fought against each other for the post of chairperson of the city municipality. Vinod Chamoli then defeated Suryakant Dhasmana, who had fought as an Independent by more than 6,000 votes.

Although Vinod Chamoli has shown his clout with the Dehradun voters by his emphatic win, it is the BJP which worked like a well-oiled machine to ensure the victory of its mayoral candidate, together with winning a majority in the Dehradun Municipal Corporation.

On the other hand, Congress candidate Suryakant Dhasamana was fighting a losing battle from the word go. The faction-ridden party has risen in revolt against his candidature supported by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and state party chief Yashpal Arya. The faction opposed to the Chief Minister and the local leaders opposed to Suryakant Dhasamana in the city found him a perfect target. There was lack of coordination despite the Uttarakhand Congress forming an election coordination committee headed by Planning and Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal. A majority of the members of the coordination committee were allegedly working against the party's mayoral candidate. Similarly ,the Congress legislators from the city, including the minister, refrained from working in favour of the mayoral candidate, but rather secretly worked against him.

The ensured that none of the party candidates’ fighting in the city wards carry the photographs of the Mayoral candidate in their posters and banners. The BJP and RSS workers worked overtime to ensure the victory of their candidates in the entire city.

Haridwar, April 30
The BJP won the Haridwar Municipal Corporation mayoral seat as well as 21 ward seats today. Manoj Garg, former party divisional chief, defeated Swami Rishishwaranand of the Congress by 17,147 votes. The party also won 21 ward seats.

Manoj Garg received 48,950 votes while Swami Rishishwaranad polled only 31,803 votes. Murali Manohar of the Rashtriya Krantikari Manch received 9,744 votes; Vijay Verma of the Aam Aadmi Party 2,262 votes and Qazi Chand of the SP polled 871 votes.

As soon as the results were declared, ecstatic party workers celebrated the victory at the Roshanabad-based counting centre. Manoj Garg thanked his mentor, local MLA Madan Kaushik, and other party activists for his victory.

Garg said now Haridwar’s development was his top priority. He sought the cooperation of all 30 ward councillors in this mission. He said voters had finally shown the door to the Congress.

Three-time MLA and former Urban State Minister Madan Kaushik attributed the win to party workers as well as a clean image of Garg.

Kaushik said with the BJP winning a majority of the seats in the Haridwar Municipal Corporation, he would ensure that the civic body lives up to the expectations of the people.

A victory procession was also taken out by party workers, which passed through Roshanabad, Chinmay Degree College, Shivalik Nagar, BHEL, Bhagat Singh intersection, Ranipur, Devpura, Mayapur and Har-ki-Pauri. Later, Garg offered rituals at the Ganga, Har-ki-Pauri, and took the blessing of saints.

Meanwhile, taking defeat in his stride, Swami Rishishwaranand said: “In democracy, it’s people’s verdict that matters. There may be some shortcomings that led to my defeat.

He thanked party workers and people who voted for him. However, he said Congress workers would make all efforts to ensure MP Harish Rawat’s win in the Lok Sabha election.

Rashtriya Krantikari Manch candidate Murali Manohar accused the BJP and the Congress of violating the election code of conduct and luring voters with varied means.

BSP candidate Irfan Ali, who received 5,962 votes, said this was his first election and he had learnt a lot. Irfan Ali said he would try to be in touch with voters, so that the party base could be increased in the Haridwar city segment.

Haridwar, April 30
Though on field it were mayoral candidates Manoj Garg (BJP) and Swami Rishishwaranand (Congress) contesting, in reality it was a contest between two heavyweight politicians of Haridwar. While Madan Kaushik pressed for Garg’s candidature, it was Harish Rawat who sought ticket from the party high command for Swami Rishishwaranand.

Manoj Garg considers Kaushik as his political mentor, while Rishishwaranand, though spiritual guru of Harish Rawat, on political front seeks guidance from Rawat only.

The whole election campaign of Manoj Garg was handled, managed and coordinated by Madan Kaushik, which eventually paid off with a clean victory for Garg.

Harish Rawat was on foreign tour during the initial phase of the election campaign. But after his return he was seen intensely campaigning since April 21 in almost all the 30 wards falling in Haridwar Municipal Corporation, seeking votes for Swami Rishishwaranand.

In fact in the local media, since it was clear Garg and Rishishwaranand were official party candidates, the mayoral election was touted as one between Harish Rawat and Madan Kaushik.

At the counting venue in Roshanabad, in a chat with TNS, when questioned about his chances of contesting Lok Sabha elections, Madan Kaushik said that it was party decision but personally he was ready to serve the party at the national level.

Quite upbeat over Garg’s win, the three-time city legislator thanked people of Haridwar for reposing faith in his abilities and now in Manoj Garg.

With Harish Rawat being in New Delhi, his spokesperson Rajesh Rastogi refuted that Rawat’s magic was fading among voters of Haridwar.

Rastogi said that the civic elections could not be compared with national elections, as issues are quite different.

He also claimed Harish Rawat’s victory in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, saying that be it Madan Kaushik or ex-Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank,whose name is doing rounds as BJP candidate from Haridwar, Harish Rawat will again win the seat owing to mass development and his national stature.

It is pertinent to mention here that in 2009 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had announced Madan Kaushik as official party candidate but later due to stiff opposition from a section of the saint community retracted, opting for saint candidate Swami Yatindranand.

Congress declared Harish Rawat as it's candidate and a direct face-off between Rawat and Kaushik got averted.In 2012 Assembly elections, Madan Kaushik won for the third consecutive time from city segment , defeating Satpal Brahamchari, another close aide of Harish Rawat.

Now with Rishishwaranand’s defeat, Kaushik has ensured back-to-back poll defeat for Harish Rawat, and it will be quite interesting to see both these heavyweights lock horns in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Pithoragarh, April 30
Independent candidates played spoilsport for the Congress in the civic bodies’ elections enabling the BJP to win a majority of the seats of Mayor and chairman in all five hill districts of the Kumaon region.

BJP candidate Jogendra Singh Rautela was elected the first Mayor of the newly formed Haldwani Nagar Nigam. The Congress retained two seats of chairman in Pithoragarh district. Jagat Singh Khati defeated BJP candidate Rajendra Singh Rawat in the Pithoragarh Nagar Palika Parishad while Dashrathi Khair of the Congress was elected chairman of the Dharchula Nagar Panchayat. Kavindra Shahi and Vimal Rawal of the BJP were elected chairmen of the Didihat and Gangolihat nagar panchayats, respectively.

In Almora district, Independent candidate Vimla Shah defeated Congress candidate to win the seat of chairman of the Dwarahat Nagar Panchayat while Congress candidate Prakash Joshi was elected chairman of the prestigious Almora Nagar Palika Parishad.

In Bageshwar district, BJP candidate Champa Shah was elected chairman of the Kapkot Nagar Panchayat. She secured 1,199 votes and defeated her closest rival by a margin of more than 200 votes. Congress candidate Gita Rawal secured 1,539 votes and defeated BJP candidate Shama Shah, a Congress rebel, by a margin of 500 votes to become the chairman of the Bageshwar Nagar Palika Parishad.

In Champawat district, Independent candidate Lata Varma was elected chairman of the Lohaghat Nagar Panchayat. He won by a margin of 500 votes. BJP candidate Prakash Tiwari defeated Congress candidate Sajjan Varma in the election to the post of chairman of the Champawat Nagar Panchayat.

In Nainital district, the BJP won the posts of chairman in the Haldwani, Ramnagar, Kaladhungi, Bhimatal and Bhawali urban bodies. Independent candidate Rambabu Mishra was elected chairman of the Lal Kuwan Nagar Panchayat. He secured 1,489 votes and defeated Bhuwan Pandey, who was supported by Uttarakhand Cabinet minister Harish Durgapal, by a margin of over 400 votes.

BJP candidates Neema Bisht and Rajesh Negi were elected chairmen of the Bhawali and Bhimatal nagar panchayats, respectively. BJP candidate Bhagirath Lal Chaudhari defeated the Congress candidate to become the chairman of the Ramnagar Nagar Panchayat.

Dehradun, April 30
The BJP's domination over it's rival Congress was complete in the civic body elections, the results of which were announced today. However, the Independents, too, performed exceptionally well by winning the maximum number of ward seats in the state.

The BJP won a total of 20 mayoral and chairman seats, the Congress won a total of 13 chairman and mayoral seats. The Independents won 14 seats in all. The results were declared for 41 seats till 8.30 pm. The elections were held in 69 civic body seats in the state . Besides, according to the trends available till 8.30 pm, the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal was leading in one and Independent in one mayoral/ chairman seat each in the state.

Out of the 690 wards, the results were announced for 521 wards (till 8.30 pm). The Independent candidates posted win in 276 seats, while the BJP candidates won a total of 142 seats and Congress won 100 seats. BSP bagged three seats.

Out of the six mayoral seats, the results were announced for four mayoral seats comprising Roorkee, Haridwar, Haldwani, Dehradun. The BJP won the three mayoral seats, while the Congress could not win even a single seat. The results of two mayoral seats comprising Kashipur and Rudrapur are still awaited.

''We had used electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the mayoral seats at Roorkee, Haridwar and Haldwani. The results of the two mayoral seats are expected to come later,'' said Harish Joshi, State Election Commissioner.

The elections were held for 69 civic bodies and in 690 ward member seats.

In Vikas Nagar the Congress candidate managed to win by a very thin margin.

There is small consolation for the Congress as it's candidates won the Tehri nagar palika, Almora and Bageshwar nagar palika chairmanship.

However, the ruling party could win the chairmanship of Lal Kuan nagar panchayat, where Cabinet Minister Durga Pal had considerable influence.

Mussoorie, April 30
In a reversal of the trend in the state, the Congress Party completely decimated the BJP by winning the Municipal Council elections for the post of president in Mussoorie today.

The people of Mussoorie gave a clear verdict in favour of the Congress presidential candidate Manmohan Singh Mall and showed the door to the incumbent sitting BJP candidate OP Uniyal. Manmohan Singh Mall received 6033 votes while OP Uniyal could garner only 3825, leading to victory for Manmohan Singh Mall by 2504 votes in the end.

Out of 11 wards, Jasvir Kaur,Ramesh Bhandari, Rami Devi, Ramesh Bharti and Vinod Semwal were other candidates from the Congress who also registered victory from their respective wards here. The remaining seats were rested by Independent candidates.

The counting began at around 8 pm in the morning but as the ballot papers were used in the elections instead of electronic voting machines, the pace was very slow which led to some delay in the counting. The pace of counting picked up after the ballot papers from all wards were mixed for the presidential candidates.

First the postal ballots were counted in which Congress received 7 votes, BJP received 2 votes and two votes went to Independent candidates, setting the trend for Congress win.

After the first round, the Congress presidential candidate took a convincing lead of around 786 votes and since then there was looking back.

The BJP candidate, OP Uniyal ,received 1073 votes while Manmohan Singh Mall received 1859 votes in the first round.

The Independent Congress rebel candidate mustered 606 votes in the first round.

In the second round the Congress candidate led by 1480 votes and in the third round the lead shot up to 2154 votes. With the end of fourth and final rounds the Congress candidate garnered 6033 votes while OP Uniyal could garner only 3825 votes, leading to victory for Manmohan Singh Mall.

For Congress candidate Manmohan Singh Mall, who lost the Assembly elections from Dhanaulti, this victory has given a boost to his sinking political career.

In ward level Anuj Gupta as Independent was declared winner from Jharipani ward number 1,Ramesh Bharti (Congress) won from Barlowganj ward number 2,Ramesh Bhandari (Congress ) won from ward number 3, Beena Panwar, Independent, won from Rajmandi ward number 4, Vinod Semwal from Congress won from Kulri ward number 5, Sashi Rawat, Independent, won from nagar palika ward number 6, Arvind Gusain, Independent, won from Kacheri ward number 7,Kuldeep Rawat won from Library ward number 8, Rami Devi from Congress won from polo ground ward number 9,Virednar Panwar, Independent, won from Happy Valley ward number 10 and Jasvir Kaur from Congress won from ward number 11.

The candidates with tainted reputation such as Sushil Aggarwal, who fielded his wife this time as female candidate, and Kedar Singh Chauhan lost in this election form their respective wards in Mussoorie.

The elated supporters of winning candidates said that this verdict was for development and against corruption of past five years in the Municipal Council.