The Bharatiya Janata Party has released its second list of 72 candidates after releasing its first list of 195 candidates few days ago. The candidates from the remaining two seats of Uttarakhand viz Pauri Garhwal and Haridwar from where the tickets of two sitting MPs have been cut are Tirath Singh Rawat and Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. In there place the BJP high command has gone ven fresh tickets to Anil Baluni , former TS MP n national BJP media chief and former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat. Both are reportedly close to the PM and HM.
The BJP high command was reportedly annoyed with both of them ( former CMs Tirath Singh Rawat and Dr.Nishank) who haven’t been active in their respective constituencies and had not resolved people’s grievances including not allocated adequate funds from their MP lad fund for developmental purposes. Their visits in their constituencies have been limited and electorates complaining about their inactivity.
According to the latest reports out of the last three and a half years of his MLA lad fund the MP from Pauri Garhwal , former Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat has spent merely 4 crores 90 lakhs in various developmental projects in his constituency whereas the Haridwar MP , former CM and former union HRD minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had spent Rs. 5 crores and 31 lakhs with rest of the unused budget lapsed.
However, the MPs from Tehri Garhwal Maharani Rajya Lakshmi and MP from Almora Ajay Tamata have spent much higher amount of more than Rs 8 crores in various developmental projects of their respective constituencies though the former was rarely available in her constituency. Similarly, Ajay Bhatt, union state minister of defence and tourism has spent nearly Rs 7 crores more than other MPs though less than RajyaLakshmi and Ajay Tamta.
Till now while the BJP has declared its candidates from all the five seats cutting two tickets of former Uttarakhand CMs. The Congress party has declared its candidates from Pauri Garhwal – Ganesh Godiyal, Tehri Garhwal- Jot Singh Gunsola, Almora – Pradeep Tamta while holding the tickets of Nainital and Haridwar seats. The five BJP candidates are : Anil Baluni, former Rajya Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal, Maharani RajyaLakshmi from Tehri Garhwal, Ajay Bhatt, union state minister from Nainital- Udham Singh Nagar, Ajay Tamta , MP from Almora and Trivendra Singh Rawat, former CM from Haridwar. The fight in Pauri Garhwal constituency would be definitely very aggressive as this has always been a very high seat with stalwarts like H.N.Bahuguna’s election rigged in 1982 – 84 catching the attention of the world through BBC. This time the most sensitive Ankita Bhandari case in which the son of a BJP leader is a culprit now behind bars and the massive cheating and paper leak scam of UKSSC including deteriorating health sector in Garhwal n Ashutosh Negi case etc may adversely affect the ruling political dispensation. Hence chances of its candidates. The former Congress chief of Uttarakhand and several times MLA dashing and vocal Ganesh Godiyal seems to be the best bet though Anil Baluni too is a architech of BJP’s National media management and a young attractive face having allocated majority of his MP lad fund in various developmental projects including opening of several ICU projects in hospitals and supplying large number of Oxygen concentrators to patients in interior villages during Covid times. His efforts and healthy initiative for opening a TATA Cancer centre in Garhwal Uttarakhand is also worth appreciating.
