Wednesday, 30 August 2023 | Gajendra Singh Negi | DEHRADUN
As the day of voting for the Bageshwar Assembly by-election draws closer, the campaigning for the crucial election has reached a feverish pace. Understanding the importance of the by- election both the ruling BJP and Congress are leaving no stone unturned in the campaign. Though the past record suggests that the ruling party candidate gets an advantage in the by- elections, a victory of Congress candidate will give a major boost to the party’s prospects in the Lok Sabha elections scheduled early next year.
The top Congress leadership is consistently camping in Bageshwar. According to observers, the by-election has become an issue of prestige for the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Assembly Yashpal Arya. Incidentally both these leaders holding key responsibilities in Uttarakhand Congress belong to the Kumaon region of the State.
Apart from both these leaders the by- election is also important for Congress stalwart Harish Rawat who is at the fag end of his long and illustrious political career. After the defeat of the Congress in the Assembly elections of 2022, the party’s central leadership handed over the command of the State Congress in the hands of young Karan Mahara. Giving little consideration to the regional equation the Congress high command made Yashpal Arya, an MLA from Bajpur Assembly constituency the LoP in the Assembly. After the Assembly by -election of Champawat in June last year in which chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami coasted to a record victory, the Bageshwar by- election will be the first major test of leadership of both Mahara and Arya.
Mahara also played a key role in bringing Basant Kumar into the party’s fold and giving him the party’s ticket for the by-election. Kumar had contested the 2017 Assembly election from Bageshwar as BSP candidate and secured more than 11,000 votes. In the 2022 election, Kumar fought on the AAP symbol and got more than 16,000 votes. Ever since the election commission issued the notification of the by-election, Mahara has been camping in Bageshwar. A victory in Bageshwar will raise the stature of Mahara who at present is facing resistance from the senior leaders of the party.
Arya who had returned back to the Congress party ahead of the Assembly election of 2022 after a five-year stint in BJP is also taking the Bageshwar challenge seriously. Bageshwar is a reserved constituency for SC and Arya is the tallest SC leader in Uttarakhand Congress at the moment. Arya is also camping in Bageshwar and making every effort in support of the party candidate. Earlier, former CM Harish Rawat is said to have reservations on the candidature of Basant Kumar. Ranjit Dass, a protégé of Rawat was the Congress candidate in the 2022 elections but left the party to join BJP when Kumar entered Congress. However Rawat has started campaigning for the party candidate in Bageshwar from Monday.
When contacted by The Pioneer, the LoP Arya exuded confidence that the Congress will win the Bageshwar by-election. He said that BJP is misusing official machinery and using money power. Arya said that people are watching these acts of the BJP and will teach it a lesson.
