Prashantnews
Since Oct 27 when both ruling BJP and Congress declared their candidates, Kedarnath assembly constituency in Uttarakhand where byelection will held on Nov 20 has remained a political battleground between the two parties.
For the ruling BJP, it is more of an issue of prestige after it lost Badrinath and Mangalaur seats in the July byelection even as it is going to be straight contest between senior BJP leader Asha Nautiyal and Manoj Rawat of Congress.
Before the hubbub of the electioneering ended on Monday evening, leaders of both the parties left no stone unturned to drum up support for the two candidates. Significantly, both Rawat and Nautiyal are former MLAs from Kedarnath seat and well known faces in Kedarnath constituency.
Ignoring the name of former cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat, the Congress had approved the candidature of Manoj Rawat. Similarly, BJP had ignored the name of Aishwarya to field Nautiyal from Kedarnath.
The big victories in Badrinath and Mangalaur few months ago gave the Congress a new hope that it can now win Kedarnath seat also. The Kedarnath seat fell vacant following the death of Shaila Rani Rawat on July 9.
BJP initially wanted to bet on Aishwarya daughter of Shaila Rani Rawat. However, Nautiyal started opposing Aishwarya tooth and nail. Later, the party high command decided to field Nautiyal from Kedarnath as Aishwarya was openly demanding ticket for herself claiming she has been assured by the high command.
After its ignominious defeat in the Lok Sabha elections for the third time consecutively in the state, the Congress showed signs of recovery when it won both Badrinath and Manglaur seats in the bypolls in July. Congress is exuding confidence that it would win the Kedarnath byelection also this time. “We will win Kedarnath seat,” said state Congress chief Karan Mahra.
Dhami has announced a number of new schemes that would benefit the Kedarnath people. In most of his rallies, he gave credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the development in Kedarnath. The people of Kedarnath will prefer development and give BJP a strong mandate in the byelection, Dhami said.