Congress hopes to wrest four Haridwar urban seats from BJP

Sandeep Rawat

Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 3

The BJP has four MLAs from the Haridwar urban segment but Uttarakhand Congress general secretary Poonam Bhagat says they are confident that this time voters will favour the party.

Poonam, former president of the Kissan Congress cell, while speaking with The Tribune here today, said people were fed up with the BJP legislators’ working who had been indulging in vote bank politics.

“Three-time MLA Madan Kaushik, Haridwar rural legislator Swami Yatishwaranand, Ranipur-BHEL legislator Aadesh Chauhan, Jwalapur MLA Chandrasekhar Bhattewala and Lakshar MLA Sanjay Gupta have all failed to live up to the expectations of the voters. For the past five years, development has taken a back seat as BJP legislators have not spent their local area development funds properly,” said Poonam, who is a strong contender for the Congress ticket from the Ranipur-BHEL seat.

She said the BJP’s criticism of Chief Minister Harish Rawat for regularly visiting Haridwar was the opposition party’s fear of Rawat’s mass popularity. “Harish Rawat has carried out mass development works in Haridwar district in the past four years and also during his tenure as MP from 2009 to 14. He was elected the MP from Haridwar with a record margin of votes. The love and support the Chief Minister enjoys from people of Haridwar district is surely a cause of worry for the BJP, as people want to give another chance to the Congress to ensure development of the district,” she said.

Poonam, who is also a member of the Uttarakhand Congress Manifesto Drafting Committee, demanded at least 15 per cent of ticket for women candidates. She said women stand a good chance of winning the elections from both in Garhwal and Kumaon.

State election screening committee in charge Kumari Shailja and in charge of party affairs in Uttarakhand Ambika Soni have assured women party leaders of giving due consideration and responsibility to them in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Asked about the two dissident MLAs who had joined the BJP, Poonam said the loss would be of the BJP as both Pranav Champion and Pradeep Batra had used muscle power and money to win the previous elections but now they had been exposed.

“The Congress gave them main responsibilities and people voted for them, but they betrayed the party, national leadership, Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay and local voters. It’s a win-win situation for the Congress, as now only dedicated party leaders and activists are left in the party fold,” she added.