Thursday, 01 September 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Forms committee headed by PCC president Mahara for candidate selection, election coordination
With the announcement of the dates of Panchayat elections in Haridwar district the Uttarakhand Congress has geared itself up for the crucial electoral battle. On Wednesday the party set up a parliamentary committee headed by the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara for the Panchayat elections in Haridwar. The general secretary (organisation) of Uttarakhand Congress Vijay Saraswat said that the committee would select the official candidates of the party and would coordinate the elections. The committee has the names of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in State assembly Yashpal Arya, former chief minister Harish Rawat, secretary All India Congress Committee (AICC) Qazi Nizamuddin, former PCC president Pritam Singh, former PCC president Ganesh Godiyal, former minister Navprabhat, MLAs Mamta Rakesh, Furkan Ahmed, Ravi Bahadur, Virendra Jati, Anupma Rawat, senior leaders Satpal Brahmchari, Yashpal Rana, Raveer Singh Chauhan and general secretary Vijay Saraswat.
Saraswat said that the party workers intending to contest the Panchayat elections should forward their application to the PCC. He said that the parliamentary committee would meet on September 2 for selection of candidates. The polling for the three tier Panchayati Raj bodies in Haridwar would be held on September 26 and the result would be announced on September 28. The elections would be held for 318 posts of Village Pradhans, 44 district Panchayat members, 221 Block Development Members, six block Pramukhs and 3722 Village Panchayat members.
The battle of Panchayat elections in Haridwar has become an issue of prestige for both BJP and Congress party. In the recent assembly elections the Congress party performed poorly in the elections in the State but it fared well in Haridwar as its candidates were able to secure victory in five out of 11 assembly seats of the district. The BSP and BJP candidates won from two assembly segments each while independent Umesh Kumar emerged victorious in the Khanpur assembly constituency.
