Uttarakhand gets ready for first phase of polls as parties conclude campaigning

Campaigning for Uttarakhand's five Lok Sabha seats going to polls on April 11 ended Tuesday evening with the BJP top leadership seeking votes in the name of "nationalism", highlighting the Balakot airstrikes, and the Congress, alleging corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal in rallies over the past fortnight. Top leaders from the two sides, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed over two dozen rallies in the state over the past fortnight.

Modi and Shah addressed two rallies each in Uttarakhand after the announcement of poll dates while state leaders of the two parties held over two dozen rallies in different constituencies. The prime minister addressed rallies at Rudrapur and Dehradun while Shah addressed rallies in Uttarkashi and Dehradun.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh too addressed rallies in Pithoragarh, Kashipur, Kotdwar and Jhabrera to drum up support in favour of party candidates. Rahul Gandhi addressed four rallies in Dehradun, Almora, Srinagar and Haridwar over the past fortnight.

While the BJP raised the issue of "nationalism", highlighting the airstrikes against terror targets in Pakistan after Pulwama terror attack, the Congress flagged the Rafale deal to mobilise public opinion against the Modi government. The BJP also attacked the Congress for corruption and releasing a manifesto which promised to amend the AFSPA and doing away with the anti-sedition law during the last leg of campaigning in the state.

As in the past, the Congress and BJP are locked in straight fights at all the Lok Sabha seats in the state including Tehri, Pauri-Garhwal, Haridwar, Almora and Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar. The BJP which had won all the five seats from the state in 2014 general elections claims it will retain them.

But poll watchers say intense campaigning by state Congress president Pritam Singh who is contesting from Tehri and AICC general secretary Harish Rawat who is trying his luck from Nainital has left the BJP worried. The BJP has renominated the sitting MP and daughter-in-law of the erstwhile Tehri royal family Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah from Tehri seat. She had won twice from Tehri in the past, once in 2012 bypoll and then in 2014. On both the occasions she defeated former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna's son Saket Bahuguna.

Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah who is banking heavily on the traditional votes of the Tehri royal family loyalists faces a stiff challenge from Pritam Singh who wields considerable influence over the Jaunsari tribal voters of Chakrata and adjoining areas. The tribal support had been instrumental in Pritam Singh's four successive wins as an MLA from Chakrata.

In Nainital, state BJP president Ajay Bhatt is taking on a formidable opponent in former chief minister Harish Rawat. Bhatt is a Lok Sabha poll debutante while Rawat has long legislative experience. Rawat was a Union minister under the UPA government before becoming the chief minister of the state in 2014.

Rawat is also supported by Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand assembly Indira Hridayesh who had initially opposed his candidature from Nainital. Hridayesh said she has held eight campaign meetings in her assembly constituency Haldwani in Rawat's support. An interesting contest is on the cards in Pauri where BJP sitting MP BC Khanduri's son Manish is taking on his father's political disciple Tirath Singh Rawat.

Though pitted against each other, both of them claim to have Khanduri's blessings and being true heirs to his political legacy. Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Tamta and sitting BJP MP Ajay Tamta face each other once again in Almora. Ajay Tamta had defeated Pradeep Tamta by nearly one lakh votes in 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Sitting BJP MP from Haridwar and former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank faces Congress leader Ambarish Kumar who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls for the first time.

(With inputs from agencies.)