'Uttarakhand voters have to choose between religion, progress'

One issue that does not find a forceful mention in the manifestos of the two main parties is the migration of population from the hills, mainly to the plains of Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar due to poor health infrastructure, lack of connectivity, educational facilities and employment, writes Senior Journalist Atul Chandra.

New Delhi:In tune with other Bharatiya Janata Party’s senior leaders, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has promised to form a committee to draft a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for the hill state. At present Goa is the only state with its own UCC. Although UCC is on the BJP and RSS plate, a bill is yet to be introduced in Parliament. According to Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, the matter may be taken up by the 22nd Law Commission.

Addressing a press conference in his constituency Khatima on the last day of campaigning in the state which goes to poll on February 14 to elect 70 legislators from among 632 contestants, Dhami said that the uniform civil code will "boost" social harmony by having the same laws for marriages, divorce and property inheritance across all faiths. Muslims are opposed to UCC as it infringes upon their personal laws. According to a local journalist, this last-minute announcement by Pushkar is unlikely to travel far as it has never been an issue. Also, barring Haridwar (34.28 per cent), Udham Singh Nagar (22.58 per cent) and Nainital (12.65 per cent), the Muslim population in the hill state is sparse.

Yet, Dhami promised to make the existing "anti-love jihad" law more stringent and to check illegal land occupation to prevent demographic imbalance. A 2016 decision of Harish Rawat allowing “namaz break” to Muslims is likely to be raked up as well. Dhami need not have resorted to polarisation as the Congress is caught up with its own internal power games between Harish Rawat and Harak Singh Rawat. The latter gave Congress a jolt by defecting to the BJP along with nine MLAs to dislodge the Harish Rawat government in 2016.

Read:Ahead of Uttarakhand polls, Congress' tall promises, BJP bashing continues

Among other promises made in the party’s manifesto, poor households are to be given three LPG cylinders free of cost in a year. Women from BPL families will be given Rs 2,000 per month and Rs 1,000 per month will be given to poor children if the BJP returns to power. The manifesto also promises Rs 40,000 to pregnant women living in hilly areas.

Congress on the other hand has promised 400,000 jobs to people, 40 per cent jobs in the police department to women and capping the cooking gas cylinder price at Rs 500. It also promised a 150 per cent hike in the salary of aanganwadi workers.

One issue that does not find a forceful mention in the manifestos of the two main parties is the migration of population from the hills, mainly to the plains of Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar due to poor health infrastructure, lack of connectivity, educational facilities and employment. Following the exodus, Almora alone has 87 ghost villages and, therefore, has no polling booths. There are several similar bhootiya(ghost) villages in Tehri Garhwal region and other parts of the state. Notwithstanding the Char Dham project to promote tourism in Dev Bhoomi, development and environmental protection remain core issues in the strategic border state.

The BJP says it is working on the issue of migration from hills, while for Congress it is a major goal. Ironically, the main chief ministerial contenders --Pushkar Singh Dhami (Khatima) and Harish Rawat (Lal Kuan) -- are both contesting from the plains of Kumaon. That, in a way, also takes away the political importance of the Garhwal region which has Gairsain, the hill state’s summer capital.

In the 2012 elections, Congress won 32 seats, just one more than the BJP’s 31 but managed to stitch together a government with the help of BSP, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal and Independents. Of the 31 seats won by the BJP, 16 were from Garhwal and 15 from Kumaon. The Congress could win only 13 seats from Kumaon but fared better in Garhwal by winning 19 seats. Dhami has been appointed to further consolidate the party’s hold in the region and counter the influence of Harish Rawat. Whether people cast their votes in the name of religion or development, one will get to know only on March 10, the day of counting.

Disclaimer:The opinions expressed in this article are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of ETV Bharat.