Tuesday, 23 April 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Though the higher voter turnout in some pockets of Haridwar district has increased the hopes of the Congress party in the Haridwar Lok Sabha constituency the BJP leaders are confident that their candidate Trivendra Singh Rawat will register an empathic victory in Haridwar.
Senior BJP leader and chairperson of Uttarakhand Waqf board, Shadab Shams told The Pioneer that the Congress party is having a misconception that it will receive full support of the minority community in Haridwar LS elections. He said that the Muslim vote in Haridwar will be divided between Congress, BSP, BJP and independent candidate Umesh Kumar. Shams claimed that the welfare schemes and the measures taken by the BJP government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have created a positive picture in the mind of the Muslims. He said that a large portion of the Muslim population is the beneficiary of the welfare schemes of the BJP government and it has cleared misconception in the community about BJP. Shams claimed that surprising trends will emerge in the counting and the BJP will at least get 10 to 15 per cent of the Muslim votes in Haridwar LS constituency. He added that the BJP has received a major chunk of the Dalit votes and the BJP candidate is poised for a big victory in Haridwar LS constituency.
The claim of Shams, a senior leader of BJP in Uttarakhand about Muslim votes assumes significance in the wake of the assertion made by the Congress leaders and former CM Harish Rawat that the party candidate Virendra Rawat will win from Haridwar. The assertion of Congress stems from the fact higher voter turnout was reported in the Piran Kalier, Bhagwanpur, Jwalapur and Jhaberda assembly segments. All these constituencies are held by Congress MLAs. Similarly high turnout was also reported in Manglaur and Laksar Assembly segments where the Congress has a strong presence. The Congress leaders also point to the less than average turnout in the Assemblies held by the BJP in Haridwar to buttress their claim in Haridwar LS constituency.
The Congress is claiming that higher voter turnout was reported in the areas where Muslim and Dalits reside in large numbers. It is estimated that Muslims and Dalits constitute more than 50 per cent of the 20, 31,632 -strong electorate of Haridwar Lok Sabha constituency.
