Tuesday, 16 May 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
PCC president Karan Mahara holds discussions with in-charge Yadav in Delhi
Emboldened by the back to back electoral successes in neighboring Himachal Pradesh and in the southern State of Karnataka, the Uttarakhand Congress has started bracing itself for the battle of upcoming urban local bodies (ULBs) and the Lok Sabha elections. The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president, Karan Mahara who is on a visit to Delhi met the Uttarakhand in-charge of Congress Devendra Yadav on Monday. In the meeting, the duo discussed the political situation in the State and the upcoming elections of urban local bodies and the crucial parliamentary elections slated next year. In the meeting with Yadav, the PCC president also discussed the Bageshwar assembly by-election. The by-election was necessitated after the death of cabinet minister Chandan Ram Dass who represented the constituency in the assembly.
The term of the ULBs in Uttarakhand is ending in December this year and it is expected that the elections for these bodies can be held in September- October this year. These elections are important for both the prominent political parties in the State since they are being held just before the crucial elections of Lok Sabha. In Uttarakhand there are a total of 102 ULBs. The elections for Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath are not held and about two years are still remaining for the term of local bodies of Roorkee and Bajpur. It implies that the elections for 97 ULBs would be held in the State which is like the semifinals for the Lok Sabha elections.
Successive defeats in Uttarakhand have made the rank and file of the State Congress nervous but successes in HP and Karnataka have infused hope in the party workers. The BJP is on a winning streak in the State ever since it bagged all the five parliamentary seats in 2014. It then came to power in the State in the assembly elections of 2017 and its candidates again secured landslide victories in the parliamentary elections of 2019. Negating the anti incumbency and the trend the BJP retained its power in the State in the assembly elections of 2022.
