U'khand: 20 seats of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts hold defy norms in 2022 elections

DEHRADUN: Indian National Congress performed better than the Bhartiya Janta Party in two districts of Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar which have a total of 20 state assembly seats in the 70-member state assembly. 

US Nagar has nine seats while Haridwar has 11 seats.

The BJP which won 16 out of 20 seats in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts in the 2017 elections managed to win just seven seats in 2022 elections, while three went to 'Others' including independent and the Bahujan Samaj Party. 

Anoop Nautiyal, Dehradun based think tank and an analyst said, "These two districts which earlier said to hold key to the power failed to make much difference with the BJP performing better in other regions. These elections have sprung up many surprises like the Chief Minister lost his seat from Khatima in IS Nagar district."

Analysis of three regions - Regions A, B, C reveals voter behaviour which gives insight into what went down in the 2022 assembly elections in the state.

In Region A of the Garhwal division which has five hill districts and one plain district Dehradun with a total of 30 seats, the BJP won 26 while the Congress got only three seats. 

In Region B which has five hill districts of the Kumaon division with a total of 20 seats, the BJP got 14 seats while the Congress had six. 

The Congress this time had popped up its 'Trump Card' with Yashpal Arya rejoining the party with his son Sanjiv Arya last year. Arya, who has a strong vote base in the district, especially among SC and Muslim voters contested 2022 elections from the Bajpur constituency of the US Nagar district. 

Both Haridwar and US Nagar districts have around 50 per cent population of Scheduled Caste and Muslims of total voters. 

Factors that influenced voters in Udham Singh Nagar which has a sizable population of Sikhs, this time in 2022 were farmer's protests regarding controversial farm laws in which farmers of the district played a significant role, anti-incumbency and the effect of what happens in the neighbouring districts Western UP - Bareilly, Rampur, Bijnor, Pilibhit, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Farrukhabad and few others. 

In totality, the BJP had a strike rate of 67 per cent bagging 47 of the 70 seats in Uttarakhand with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading from the front. 
The Congress barely managed a 27 per cent strike-rate with its 19 seats across the state.