Friday, 18 AUGUST 2023 | PNS | BAGESHWAR
On the last day for filing nominations for the Bageshwar Assembly by-elections, Congress candidate Basant Kumar, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal candidate Arjun Dev and Samajwadi Party candidate Bhagwati Prasad Trikoti filed their nominations on Thursday. The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and widow of the late cabinet minister and Bageshwar MLA Chandra Ram Dass, Parvati Dass had filed her nomination a day earlier on Wednesday. After the nomination on Thursday, a public meeting was held in support of the Congress candidate at Numaishkhet ground. The Pradesh Congress Committee president Karan Mahara, leader of opposition Yashpal Arya and other senior leaders of the party were present in the event. On the other hand, former MLA Pushpesh Tripathi was also present during the filing of nomination by UKD candidate.
According to observers, as has been seen in the past in Assembly elections and by-elections, the family member of the deceased MLA has won the bypoll comfortably. In 2019, the widow of late Finance minister and Pithoragarh MLA Prakash Pant, Chandra Pant won the Assembly by-election necessitated by the demise of the cabinet minister. Later, in 2022, Mahesh Jeena, the brother of the late Salt MLA Surendra Singh Jeena also won the Assembly by-election. Both the MLAs were BJP leaders. Poll pundits opine that this time too the trend is likely to be repeated and the widow of the late MLA is expected to win especially as the candidate belongs to the party in office. On the other hand, the PCC president Karan Mahara has claimed that the Congress will win the election comfortably if it is conducted in a fair manner.
