Wednesday, 07 August 2024 | Gajendra Singh Negi | DEHRADUN
Hectic political activities are being witnessed in both ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress for the upcoming Assembly by-election in Kedarnath. Though the Election Commission of India is yet to announce the date of the important by-election necessitated by the death of the incumbent MLA Shaila Rani Rawat, both the political parties have started the necessary political groundwork for the electoral contest. Considering the importance of the bypoll, the ruling BJP has assigned mission Kedarnath to five ministers of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s cabinet.
Latching on to the opportunity provided by brewing resentment among local people and Teerth Purohits over the foundation stone laying ceremony of replica of Kedarnath Dham at Buradi in New Delhi and presence of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the ceremony, the opposition Congress started a local protest on the issue. The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara also embarked upon a Kedarnath Pratishtha Raksha Yatra from Har ki Paidi in Haridwar to Kedarnath. The Yatra elicited a response from the public and the all the top leaders of State Congress including former CM Harish Rawat, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Vidhan Sabha Yashpal Arya, former PCC presidents Pritam Singh and Ganesh Godiyal and former cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat attended it. Though the rain triggered disaster in Kedarnath forced the Congress leadership to suspend the event, the party was successful in galvanising its cadre in Kedarnath.
Amid political posturing by both the political parties many contenders have thrown their hats for the ticket in the bypoll from both BJP and Congress.
There is a section of leaders in BJP which believes that Aishwarya Rawat, the daughter of late Shaila Rani Rawat should be fielded from Kedarnath as it will help the party to garner sympathetic votes. Two-time MLA (2002 and 2007) and BJP Mahila Morcha State president Asha Nautiyal is also a strong contender for the BJP ticket from this constituency. Apart from these two, colonel (retd) Ajay Kothiyal has also shown interest in the BJP ticket. Kothiyal is known for his role in the reconstruction work in Kedarnath after the disaster of 2013. He was the principal of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) at that time. Kuldeep Rawat, who contested the Assembly elections of 2017 and 2022 as an independent candidate and garnered good votes (he stood second in both these elections) and the president of Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) Ajendra Ajay are also said to be in the fray for the BJP ticket.
In the Congress party, the claim of former MLA Manoj Rawat is strong. He is very active in the area and commands a good support in the constituency. However, a section of local Congress believes that the party should field the president of Rudraprayag unit Kunwar Sajwan from the constituency. Supporters of former cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat are also pitching his name from the constituency.
