Dehradun: Uttarakhand holds an important place in the country in terms of religious tourism. Apart from Chardham, there are many such religious places where lakhs of devotees visit every year. At the same time, these religious places also hold significance in terms of the politics of Uttarakhand.
In the BJP's landslide win on 57 seats in the 2017 elections in Uttarakhand, the religious places and Hindutva were at the center stage.
There are certain seats of religious significance in Uttarakhand that the BJP has been targeting for Hindutva politics which might benefit the rightwing party in other states as well. Let us have a look at a few of these seats which will be closely looked for when results are declared on Thursday.
Chardham (Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri), Rishikesh and Haridwar assembly seats located in the Garhwal division are prominent among the seats having religious significance. In the 2017 elections, BJP suffered a major setback in Kedarnath. However, in Rishikesh and Haridwar, BJP has been winning continuously since the formation of the state.
Kedarnath Dham is considered special by Hindus among the 12 Jyotirlingas. It is believed that this Jyotirlinga was built by the Pandavas after the war of Mahabharata was over. In the year 2013, the disaster caused huge destruction in the Kedar valley, after which the reconstruction work of Kedarnath Dham, the main site of Chardham, is going on. Kedarnath's reconstruction work is one of PM Modi's dream projects and he keeps visiting Kedarnath Dham from time to time.
Kedarnath Assembly seat
Kedarnath assembly seat comes under Rudraprayag district. Kedarnath's seat has been occupied by BJP and Congress twice each in the last four assembly elections. In 2002 and 2007, BJP candidate Asha Nautiyal was elected MLA from here.
In the year 2012, Shailrani Rawat of Congress became MLA from here. In the 2017 election, Congress candidate Manoj Rawat won from here and defeated his nearest independent candidate Kuldeep Singh Rawat by a margin of 869 votes. In the 2017 election, a total of 65.25 percent of votes were cast in Kedarnath.
Manoj Rawat has been fielded from Congress in this year's election as well. Whereas, the BJP ticket this time went to Shaila Rani, while Kuldeep Singh Rawat is contesting as an independent this time too.
Kedarnath assembly seat is highly rated by BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been visiting Lord Kedarnath's Dham to woo the Hindu voters. The BJP has been saying that ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the center, the reconstruction work has been done “at a rapid pace along with the project of thousands of crores for Kedarnath”.
The BJP government has tried to capitalize on the work of reconstruction of Kedarnath as well as the installation of the idol of Shankaracharya in Kedarnath. However, Congress has been continuously attacking this claim of BJP. Former Congress CM Harish Rawat has been continuously saying that the work of rebuilding Kedarnath started during his tenure. The reconstruction work of Rs 710 crore is being carried out in Kedarnath jointly by the central and state government.
Badrinath Master Plan
The Badrinath assembly seat of Uttarakhand is named after Lord Badri and the mythological temple of Lord Badrinath, which is one of the Chardham. Badrinath's seat falls in the frontier Chamoli district. This area is adjacent to the India-China border. Kedarnath and Badrinath used to be one assembly seat before the formation of Uttarakhand. In the last four assembly elections, the Badrinath seat was alternately occupied by Congress and BJP.
Recently, the Central Government has prepared a blueprint of Rs 248 crore, under which the area around Badrinath will be developed.
Crorepatis in the fray
In the recently concluded Uttarakhand assembly polls, a total of 632 candidates were in the fray, out of which 40 percent were crorepatis.
The 632 candidates belong to 202 national parties, 314 regional parties, 137 unrecognized parties, and 123 independent candidates.
Out of the total candidates, the assets of 252 candidates are more than one crore.
Bets on Crorepati candidates: Out of 70 BJP candidates, 60 candidates i.e. 86 percent candidates are crorepatis. At the same time, 56 out of 70 candidates in Congress are crorepatis. As for the Aam Aadmi Party, out of its 69 candidates, 31 candidates i.e. 45 percent of candidates are crorepatis. In the Bahujan Samaj Party, the party has fielded 54 candidates, out of which 18 candidates i.e. about 33 percent are crorepatis while 12 candidates out of 42 of the state's regional party Uttarakhand Kranti Dal are crorepatis.
Top 5 Crorepatis: In the top 5 of these crorepati candidates, Antriksh Saini from Congress, is in the fray from the Laksar assembly seat. The second name is Satpal Maharaj, the cabinet minister of the BJP government, who is once again trying his luck in Chaubattakhal. Mohan Kala from UKD is marked at number three, who has contested from Srinagar seat. Independent candidate Umesh Kumar is at number four, who is in the fray from the Khanpur seat. Apart from this, BJP candidate Dr. Shailendra Mohan Singhal is at number five, who is contesting from the Jaspur seat.
Congress candidate Antriksh Saini has declared his assets worth more than 123 crores in his nomination papers. Antriksh Saini had contested from Laksar seat in 2017 on the BSP's symbol, but he had to face defeat. In 2021, he joined Congress. Saini has done a doctorate and there is no criminal case registered against him.
BJP leader Satpal Maharaj has declared his assets at more than 87 crores. In 2017, Maharaj was elected MLA from Chaubattakhal on a BJP ticket. He is the son of famous spiritual master Yogiraj Param Sant Shrihans and Rajeshwari Devi.
Satpal had left the Congress in 2014 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2017, he was elected MLA in the Uttarakhand Assembly elections from the Chaubattakhal constituency. He defeated Rajpal Singh Bisht by 7354 votes. At present, Maharaj is also the tourism minister of Uttarakhand.
UKD candidate Mohan Kala comes third in the list of crorepati candidates who is trying their luck from the Srinagar assembly seat. He has declared his assets more than 82 crores in the election details.
Seats to watch out for
While exit polls have predicted an absolute majority for the BJP in the Uttarakhand assembly election results, other major parties including Congress and the AAP are equally claiming the stake in the next government in the state.
The BJP is contesting the elections under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while former Chief Minister Harish Rawat is the face of Congress. Khatima, Lalkuan, Haridwar, Srinagar are said to be the hottest assembly seats of Uttarakhand. Let us have a look at other key seats being closely contested among the parties.
Khatima: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is in the electoral fray from Khatima, while Congress candidate Bhuvan Kapri is giving him a fight on behalf of Congress. CM Dhami has won from this seat for two consecutive terms. This time Dhami will create history by making a hat-trick as well as becoming the first Chief Minister to get the CM chair again.
In the 2017 elections, Dhami had defeated Bhuvan Kapri by 2709 votes. In the year 2017, Pushkar Dhami got 29,539 votes, while Bhuvan Kapri lost with a small margin of votes (26830 votes). This time, former Aam Aadmi Party president SS Kler is also in the fray from this seat making it a triangular contest.
Lalkuan: After Khatima, the Lalkuan seat is being considered the second key seat of Uttarakhand this time. This seat falls in the Nainital district. Former CM Harish Rawat is contesting from here. Earlier, Congress had fielded Harish Rawat from Ramnagar, but after opposition within the party, he had to contest from Lalkuan. The BJP has expressed confidence in Mohan Bisht from the seat. Apart from this, former block chief Sandhya Dalakoti, who was upset over the ticket denial from Congress, is also contesting as an independent and is giving a challenge to Harish Rawat, due to which the fight here has become even more interesting.
Gangotri: Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial candidate Colonel Ajay Kothiyal is contesting from here. Congress leader Vijaypal Singh Sajwan, a two-time MLA, is once again trying his luck from here. Whereas after the death of Gopal Singh Rawat, who won the election last time, BJP has made Suresh Chauhan its candidate from here. All these veterans are making the electoral battle of Gangotri interesting causing more political turmoil in this seat.
Srinagar: Congress state president Ganesh Godiyal and BJP cabinet minister Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat are contesting from Srinagar assembly seat, which is included in the VIP seats of Pauri district. In the 2017 assembly elections, Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat of BJP had defeated Ganesh Godiyal here by 8,698 votes, when he got 30,816 votes while Ganesh Godiyal got 22,118 votes.
Haridwar: Haridwar Rural seat is also included in the top 10 seats this time. From here cabinet minister Swami Yatheeswaranand is in the electoral fray. Whereas Anupama Rawat, daughter of former Chief Minister Harish Rawat is contesting against him. In such a situation, the competition is going to be very interesting. In 2017, BJP candidate Yatheeswaranand defeated Harish Rawat from here, due to which the battle has become even more interesting.
Chaubattakhal: The fight is interesting in the Chaubattakhal assembly seat of Pauri district as well. Chaubattakhal assembly seat is considered to be the hottest seat of Pauri Garhwal district. From here, one of the veterans and cabinet ministers Satpal Maharaj is in the electoral fray. While Kesar Singh Negi is in the fray from Congress against him. In the 2017 elections, Maharaj defeated Rajpal Singh Bisht of Congress by 7,354 votes here. Once again Maharaj is in the electoral fray.
Lansdowne: Lansdowne seat of Pauri district has also remained a hot seat this time. Anukreethy Gusain, the daughter-in-law of former cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat and Miss Grand International, is in the electoral fray from this seat.
