Dehradun, Nov 2 (PTI) The BJP is locked in a battle of prestige in the Kedarnath assembly byelection in Uttarakhand after losing in another important Hindu pilgrimage town, Badrinath, in the July bypolls.
BJP nominee Asha Nautiyal has twice represented the seat in the Uttarakhand assembly — in 2002 and 2007 — while Congress candidate Manoj Rawat, a journalist-turned-politician, won it narrowly in 2017 defeating independent candidate Kuldip Singh Rawat by more than 850 votes.
The stakes are high for both parties as the BJP looks to avenge its defeat in the byelection to Badrinath assembly seat, which the Congress managed to retain despite the saffron party sweeping the Lok Sabha polls. A resurgent Congress appears determined not to leave any stone unturned to emerge triumphant in another Hindutva stronghold.
The Chardham Yatra of four holy sites – Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath – is among the most popular Hindu pilgrimages in India.
The opposition narrative of the BJP “tasting defeat in Hindutva strongholds” has gained traction since it lost in Ayodhya in the Lok Sabha elections this year despite the hype around the Ram Temple.
Out of the five assembly elections held in Kedarnath so far, BJP has won thrice and Congress twice.
Nautiyal won it in 2002 and 2007 as a BJP candidate. Shaila Rani Rawat won it in 2012 on a Congress ticket. She contested the seat as a BJP nominee in 2017 and lost to Congress’ Manoj Rawat. However, she wrested the seat from Rawat in 2022.
The Pauri Garhwal parliamentary constituency under which the Kedarnath assembly segment falls is also held by the BJP.
Shaila Rani Rawat’s daughter Aishwarya Rawat was among the frontrunners for the ticket from the seat but the BJP chose to go with Nautiyal.
Women voters in Kedarnath play a decisive role in successive polls as they outnumber men. It may also have been a reason why the seat was won by women candidates four times and only once by a male candidate.
The BJP candidate has been highlighting the reconstruction projects being carried out in Kedarnath by the “double-engine government” to win over voters.
“Not only the people of Kedarnath constituency but devotees from all over the country and abroad have seen the reconstruction work being carried out in Kedarnath for the last ten years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“People are getting the benefits of a double-engine government. I am confident the BJP will get their blessings once again,” Nautiyal said.
However, former PCC president Ganesh Godiyal claims the people of Kedarnath are disappointed with the state government and will punish it again in the November 20 byelection.
“The constituency has been neglected. People are disappointed. It is an opportunity for them to send a strong MLA to the state assembly who can fight for them,” Godiyal said.
Targeting the BJP, Congress candidate Manoj Rawat has also been raising the issue of the Dhami government’s initial support to the proposed construction of a replica of Kedarnath in Delhi by a trust which sparked a protest by priests at the Himalayan temple.
One of the 12 Jyotirlingas, Kedarnath cannot be replicated, the protesting priests had said at the time. They were also backed by the Congress which held a padayatra to Kedarnath on the issue.
Dhami had attended the foundation laying ceremony of the proposed temple in Delhi but went on the back foot after the protests began, forcing the trust to finally give up the project.
The BJP won all 13 Assembly seats of Garhwal except Badrinath in the 2022 assembly polls. The Congress later retained this seat in a July byelection after three-time Congress MLA Rajendra Singh resigned to join the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The ruling BJP has 47 seats and the Congress 20 seats out of 70 in the Uttarakhand Assembly. PTI ALM ALM RT RT
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