The bypoll in Kedarnath, one of the Jyotirlings and most-visited Hindu shrines as part of Uttarakhand’s Char Dham Yatra, was necessitated after the demise of BJP MLA Shaila Rawat in July this year.
| Photo Credit: PTI
After its recent embarrassing defeats in Ayodhya’s Faizabad Parliamentary constituency and in the Assembly bypoll at the temple town of Badrinath, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is going all out to prevent another jolt at Hindutva bastion Kedarnath, the abode of Hindu God Shiva located 11,755 ft above sea, and one of the favourite pilgrimage sites of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The bypoll in Kedarnath, one of the Jyotirlings and most-visited Hindu shrines as part of Uttarakhand’s Char Dham Yatra, was necessitated after the demise of BJP MLA Shaila Rawat in July this year. The polling will take place in Kedarnath on November 20, 2024.
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The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Asha Nautiyal, a former MLA from Kedarnath, who held the seat between 2002 and 2007, against Congress’ Manoj Rawat who is a former journalist and became an MLA from from Kedarnath in 2017. Ms. Nautiyal’s victory margin in both elections was more than 3,000 votes and Mr. Rawat bagged this seat with a margin of 869 votes.
In the five Assembly elections held in Uttarakhand, which was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000, the BJP managed to win Kedarnath thrice while the seat went to Congress twice. The constituency has 45,775 female voters and 44,765 male voters, and the dominance of women is also visible among the elected members as female MLAs won four out of five times in this constituency.
The saffron party is contesting the Kedarnath bypolls using the tried-and-tested duopoly of “development and Hindutva,” targeting the Congress as “anti-Hindu” party which if will come to power will ‘change the demography’ of the place where majority population is upper caste Hindus.
Barely days before the announcement of bypolls, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced developmental projects worth ₹48 crore, in Kedarnath alone. He also asked the voters to consider him as their MLA until the new one is elected. From participating in bike rallies to religious rituals, Mr. Dhami is making frequent visits to the constituency.
The party has also roped in 40 star campaigners, including BJP’s national media head Anil Baluni, and Ajay Tamta, MoS in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, who visit remote villages that are part of Kedarnath constituency where minimum temperature is currently touching 2-3 degree Celsius.
Upbeat after winning the Badrinath and Manglaur Assembly seats recently, the Opposition Congress is reminding people about how the government failed to restore the ancient Shiva temple, nestled in Himalayas, the way it should be, after 2013 disaster. In his public address, Mr. Harish Rawat, one of the star campaigners for the party along with State president Karan Mahra and former State Minister Harak Singh Rawat among others, warned people not to believe the ‘communal gimmicks’ of the BJP such as “Land Jihad”, “Love Jihad”, “demography change” but instead focus on real issues such as development.
The Opposition is also attacking the ruling party, which currently holds 46 of 70 seats in the State Assembly, by raking up the recent controversy involving CM Dhami for inaugurating the construction of a replica of Kedarnath temple in Delhi’s Burari. The move was widely criticised by the priest community who termed it against the religion.
“They failed to save the gold you have donated to Lord Shiva. Your gold was stolen from Kedarnath temple whose security is government’s responsibility,” Mr. Manoj Rawat said in one of his public speeches.
BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt counters the Congress by calling it a ‘party with no vision’ and claimed that the BJP will win Kedarnath with highest ever margin.
“Badrinath seat was already with the Congress. Their MLA joined us because he was unhappy with the party. So Congress shouldn’t celebrate its Badrinath victory. About Manglaur, we never won that seat so losing this time was not a set back at all. We have managed better vote share there as well,” says Mr. Bhatt.
Apart from the war of words, both parties are trying to garner support for family and vote bank of the deceased MLA Shaila Rawat who remained both with the Congress and the BJP in more than three decades of her political career. BJP candidate Nautiyal recently had lunch with late Shaila Rawat’s daughter Aishwarya Rawat. Mr. Harish Rawat also met her and the pictures of the meeting went viral on social media.
“Ms. Aishwarya Rawat wanted ticket for herself after her mother’s demise. Her support will play a major role in the polls,” says Ajeet Bhatt, a voter from Gaurikund.
Published – November 13, 2024 02:28 pm IST
