Sunday, 13 February 2022 | GP Semwal | Pauri
With a little more than 24 hours left for polling in the Assembly elections, both the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress are doing their best to ensure the victory of their candidates in Chaubattakhal and Srinagar constituencies in Pauri district. These seats are high profile as cabinet minister Satpal Maharaj is contesting from Chaubattakhal while cabinet minister Dhan Singh Rawat is contesting from Srinagar. While Congress candidate KS Negi is seen as the main contender against Maharaj in Chaubattakhal, Congress candidate and Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal’s Mohan Kala have made the election a triangular contest in Srinagar.
Nine candidates are contesting in the Chaubattakhal constituency. Though all candidates are doing their best to woo the voters, the main contest is seen between the BJP and Congress candidates though AAP and UKD candidates are also likely to make their presence felt. Negi was earlier in the BJP but left it some years ago to join the Congress. Negi is said to have a good hold in the constituency as he has been an aspiring candidate for many years. The BJP candidate is reputed and seeking votes in the name of development while the Congress candidate is alleging lack of development while seeking votes. The total number of voters in this constituency is 94,372 which include 45,535 males, 45,340 females, 794 persons with disability and 3,497 service voters.
In Srinagar constituency, BJP’s Rawat and Congress’ Godiyal are facing each other again after the last Assembly election. In the 2017 elections, Rawat had defeated Godiyal by a margin of 8,698 votes. A total of seven candidates are contesting from this constituency. Both Rawat and Godiyal have influence in the constituency. While Rawat is seeking votes on the basis of developments he claims to have facilitated, Godiyal too has been consolidating the party’s position in the constituency. The total number of voters in Srinagar constituency is 1,08,753 which include 54,423 males, 52,196 females, 1,140 persons with disability and 2,128 service voters.
