DEHRADUN: In Uttrakhand's Tehri Lok Sabha constituency, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has won eight out of nine times with the help of the Royal family. But despite the successive victories, the saffron party has not been able to erode the strong roots established by the Congress.
For the last three elections, Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, a member of the royal family on behalf of the BJP, has been representing Tehri in the Lok Sabha.
In this election, BJP has fielded Mala for the fourth time. The contest will be against Congress candidate Jot Singh Gunsola, who is fighting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time.
From the time of India's independence, this region had remained a stronghold for the Congress party until the 1990s. The 2024 Lok Sabha election is however expected to see the traditional vote bank of the Congress slip to only two and a half per cent. Political experts believe that the BJP has launched a special campaign of booth management to dent this vote bank.
Upon delving into the electoral records, it becomes evident that the Tehri Lok Sabha constituency has historically been under the sway of the royal family during past elections.
But having the royal family's support is not enough to keep the grand old party at bay.
"Despite succumbing to defeat in two successive general elections, the allure of the Tehri royal family proved insufficient to diminish the Congress party's sway in the area," said a political analyst.
Significantly, the Congress managed to secure 31 per cent of the vote in 2014 and 30 per cent in 2019, underscoring its enduring stronghold in the constituency.
The historical narrative of the Tehri parliamentary constituency was accentuated by senior Congress leader and former cabinet minister Hira Singh Bisht, who noted, "Following the integration of the Tehri State into the Indian Union in 1949, plans were in motion for King Manvendra Shah to participate in the inaugural Lok Sabha elections of 1951-52."
Nonetheless, upon the rejection of his nomination, Maharani Kalemdumathi stepped forward as an independent candidate and secured a triumphant victory.
Bisht elaborated to the reporter, "Between 1957 and 1989, the Congress held a dominant position in this constituency. Notably, Trepan Singh Negi secured victory in 1977 on a BLD ticket and in 1980 as a Congress candidate. Subsequently, Manvendra Shah, transitioning to the BJP from the royal family, triumphed in the 1991 election and served as an MP continuously until 2004. The Congress regained the seat in 2009 with Vijay Bahuguna's victory".
But since 2014, the BJP has retained control of the constituency. Saket Bahuguna contested the 2014 elections and Pritam Singh contested on a Congress ticket in 2019 but both failed.
Election-wise Vote Percentage:
2019
BJP- 64.3
Congress- 30.11
2014
BJP- 57.30
Congress- 32.75
2009
BJP- 35.98
Congress- 45.04
2004
BJP- 47.62
Congress- 64.52
Voters in Tehri region
Total Voters- 1572110
Female voters- 752558
Male voters- 806614
Service Voters- 12876
Transgender- 62