BJP eyes hat-trick in Uttarakhand, zeroes in on 22 Assembly seats
DEHRADUN: The BJP secured consecutive victories in the last two Lok Sabha elections, winning all five Lok Sabha seats from Uttarakhand. It is now setting its sights on a hat-trick in the state.
The party’s focus is on 22 assembly constituencies where it faced setbacks in the previous assembly elections. This proactive approach by the BJP has further compounded the Congress challenges. The opposition party is already in disarray and lacks coordination.
Reports say two BJP candidates have also filed their nomination papers, while the Congress is yet to declare its candidates Haridwar and Nainital.
Speaking to this newspaper, Manveer Chauhan, the state BJP media in charge, said that Trivendra Singh Rawat submitted his nomination papers for the Haridwar seat online on Friday. Ajay Tamta also filed his papers from Almora, while Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah and Anil Baluni are supposed to follow suit from for Tehri and Pauri seats respectively on March 26.
In the 70-member state Assembly, the BJP won 47 seats in the previous assembly elections. The party had to face defeat in 23. In view of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has opened its doors to other parties, including the Congress. In such a situation, it has succeeded in bringing Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari from the Badrinath seat under the Garhwal parliamentary seat.
According to party sources, the BJP has managed to capture all the 14 assembly segments that fall under the Garhwal parliamentary seat. Now it is focusing on 22 assembly segments that fall under the remaining four parliamentary seats. The party is working on a separate strategy for achieving its target.
Sources said the party is concentrating on the assembly constituencies of Pratap Nagar, Yamunotri, and Chakrata within the Tehri parliamentary constituency. The party is focused on Pithoragarh, Dharchula, Almora, Dwarahat and Lohaghat.