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In his last rally at Almora, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked the electorate in Uttarakhand to vote for the so-called ‘double-engine’ government once again for the unhindered development of Uttarakhand. Clearly, the appeal worked and contrary to the expectations of the Congress, the BJP has pulled off an emphatic victory in the state.
Though Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lost, the BJP has beaten anti-incumbency factors like growing inflation and unemployment. Even the Congress’s popular slogan “teen tigada, kaam bigada”, referring to the BJP appointing three chief ministers in less than four months, did not have any impact.
The Congress, the BJP’s main opposition in the state, has been left totally bruised, with Harish Rawat, who was the party’s face in the elections, losing from Lal Kuan. The party has, however, made big gains in the plains of Haridwar and Udhamsingh Nagar.
As in Uttar Pradesh, in Uttarakhand too, the BJP profited from Modi’s mass appeal. The Prime Minister managed to change the mood of the electorate which was tilting in favour of the Congress. In rally after rally, he emphasised that the Centre had spent Rs one lakh crore for the development of the hill state in the last five years. This includes the Rs 16,000-crore Karanprayag-Rishikesh railway line and the Rs 12,000-crore all-weather Char Dham national highway project.
Modi pointed out that the UPA government had built only 288km of highways in Uttarakhand while the BJP had constructed 2,000 km of national highways in the state. He also attacked Congress for allegedly promising to construct a Muslim university in Uttarakhand, which was seen as an attempt to polarise the voters.
“We are grateful to Modi ji for his rallies in the state which were a turning point in our victory,” said Dr Devender Bhasin, BJP state vice-president.
Political observers say that the result of the election has been a surprise. In fact, the mood in the BJP headquarters in the state was a bit sombre these last few days. “We were not expecting a majority this time, although a close fight was on the cards,” said a top BJP leader.
“Modiji has done a lot in Uttarakhand. Be it for the Karanprayag rail project or the Char Dham highway, the people in the state have expressed their gratitude,” said Manju R, a political observer.
But Dhami’s defeat has put the BJP high command in a spot. They have to now decide whom to prop up in his place though there are talks that Dhami can stil be considered for the CM post. Former Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and tourism minister Satpal Maharaj are among the candidates being seen as probables for the chief minister’s job. However, Manveer Singh Chauhan, the BJP’s state media in-charge, said, “It is too early to say who will be the next chief minister.”
“We accept the poll verdict with all humility,” said Ganesh Godiyal, the state Congress president.
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