Contest between Anil Baluni and Ganesh Godiyal may become three cornered after the entry of the UKD candidate Ashutosh Negi

SUNIL NEGI

The elections in Uttarakhand is due for 19 th April and the hot seat once, from where late political stalwart H.N.Bahuguna won in 1982 defeating the then PM Indira Gandhi’s candidate CMS Negi after the elections were rigged , Pauri Garhwal seat has these days again become somewhat hot with Bhartiya Janata Party’s important candidate Anil Baluni , close to PM Narendra Modi and union home minister contesting against Congress candidate and former Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal’s candidate Ashutosh Negi, a journalist n social activist turned politician who just got released few days ago from jail, after being arrested on SC ST Act charge lodged against him on alleged fictitious grounds as claimed by the UKD candidate.

The election campaign in Pauri Garhwal constituency has gained momentum with Congress party’s Ganesh Godiyal terming it a fight of a local n grass root leader against an outsider.

According to him Anil Baluni has been an outsider living in Delhi during the last five or more years whereas he is a local being MLA twice from Srinagar Garhwal always working among the local populace.

The Srinagar assembly constituency from where Ganesh Godiyal had been MLA comes under the jurisdiction of Pauri Garhwal parliamentary constituency.

Godiyal has also accused the ruling BJP for issuing him three IT notices thus being vindictive to an opposition candidate asking him to be present at Thane, Maharashtra on 22 nd March with a clear cut objective to harrass him and his family and create bottlenecks on his way of political campaigning giving an unambiguous impression that his BJP rival is afraid of his increasing impact and influence in the Pauri Garhwal constituency.

Ganesh Godiyal had convened a press conference on Wednesday and criticised the ruling party for resorting to such pressure tactics when elections are underway and he is busy in campaigning including election code of conduct already in force.

The Congress spokesperson Garima Mehra Dasauni has sent a letter to the chief election commissioner complaining about the IT notices sent to Congress candidate Ganesh Godiyal despite Code of Conduct into force.

Ganesh Godiyal’s extensive campaigning seems to have started accompanying fruits as in Gopeshwar despite an MLA of Badrinath Rajendra Bhandari joining BJP, hundreds / thousands of the local populace holding the Congress flags in their hands and raising slogans hailing Godiyal and Congress followed him in a Jan Samarthan Yatra with the video going viral in social media.

On the other hand the influential BJP candidate Anil Baluni, the national media in-charge of the saffron party close to PM and HM stationed at the centre has also commenced his whirlwind campaigning from Kotdwar followed by a public meeting and a road show at Lansdown and various other locations. Today he was in Chamoli area and Tharali block holding door to door campaign, meeting with the electorates and acknowledging the blessings of the senior citizens including roadshow.

Wherever Baluni is going he’s getting a tumultuous welcome with party cadre and the RSS workers including women accompanying him in saffron attire.

While addressing the crowds Anil Baluni is also mentioning the name of the outgoing MP Tirath Singh Negi not to annoy him, assuring people to fulfil his unfulfilled tasks.

Anil Baluni though banking on Modi charisma and obviously on the polarisation as a result of Ram Temple consecration and construction is also assuring the electorates that they will witness a unique and outstanding development of their constituency which they must never had thought of ever or seen ever before.

It may be recalled that Anil Baluni who was Rajya Sabha Member earlier has allocated Rs 15 crores a month ago for construction of a mountain museum and a planetarium at Pauri and had been instrumental earlier for installing ICU projects in the interior hospitals and also arranging good quantity of Oxigenators and medicines during the Covid times as given to understand from social media posts. He was also trying hard for a Tata cancer hospital in Garhwal Uttarakhand posting the letters on X in this regard. He was assured by illustrious industrialist Ratan Tata himself in person. Anil Baluni has undergone treatment for cancer and was admitted in Tata Memorial Cancer hospital in Mumbai now fully cured.

If we talk of the UKD candidate Ashutosh Negi , journalist and social activist renowned for exposing a scam of an intermediate school including raising voice against the felling of trees including exposing a forest mafia, in Kotdwar , he was also the first journalist to bring to fore the Ankita Bhandari case which was likely to be put under cold storage. Negi was the first journalist cum activist who compelled the Patwari to lodge the FIR after late Ankita Bhandari who had gone missing and later on her dead body found in the lake at Rishikesh. Had determined Negi not raised this issue the case of Ankita Bhandari would have been a grave mystery till now. Not only this but Ashutosh had filed a PIL in Uttarakhand High Court demanding CBI enquiry and later on filed an SLP through renowned supreme court advocate and human right activist Collin Gonsalves in Supreme Court asking for CBI probe and exposure of the mysterious VIP in this case. Negi was involved with various movements in Ankita Bhandari case and was arrested by the Pauri Garhwal police on an alleged unsubstantiated SCST charge, finally released in bail. He has started campaigning with his friends and colleagues but is without finance and sources . He has been trying hard to convince voters to bless him, but in these days of rich n ultra rich donating to the candidates of the national political parties through bonds, held unconstitutional by Supreme Court, thousands of crores of rupees candidates of transparent character and dignity like Ashutosh Negi can only raise his voice against injustice depending solely on electorates whether they hear him and bless him. However it is interesting to note that both the candidates of national parties are Brahmin and Ashutosh is a singular Rajput candidate. However,according to political pundits entry of Ashutosh Negi in the fray will disturb the chances of Congress candidate more than the BJP.