PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara has said that despite using every trick in the bag, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has suffered major losses in the three tier Panchayat elections.
Interacting with the media persons at Rajiv Bhawan here on Friday, the PCC president said the BJP misused official machinery to its advantage in the Panchayat elections. He said that the State Election Commission also acted as an agent of the State government. “Despite the order of the Uttarakhand High Court to act as per the provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act, the commission paid no heed. I had raised the issue of safety of the unused ballot papers and had demanded that such ballot papers must be kept in the safety of double lock in presence of the representatives of the political parties but the SEC took no notice of my plea,’’ he said.
Mahara said the rural population of Uttarakhand voted in the favour of the Congress candidates and the BJP candidates have suffered losses everywhere.
The PCC president said that the relatives of BJP leaders have suffered defeats in the elections. He claimed that in the Sitarganj assembly constituency represented by cabinet minister Saurabh Bahuguna, the BJP candidates suffered defeat in four out of six seats. The State BJP president Mahendra Bhatt failed to ensure victory of BJP candidate in his own district Panchayat seat in Chamoli district.
He claimed that the Congress party is in a strong position in most of the districts of the State and its candidates will win the post of president district Panchayats.
Mahara warned that the Congress will react strongly to any attempts by the ruling BJP to subvert the mandate given by the people in Panchayat elections.
