Dehra Dun, February 16.
Battle lines have been clearly drawn for the second Assembly elections in Uttarakhand that goes to the poll on February 21. An aggressive BJP is locked in a direct contest with the Congress on all the seats with the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) and other parties vying to make their presence felt. Spread over a terrain ranging from snow covered mountains to the Ganges plateau, the State will give its mandate on the issue of development claimed by the Congress and non-performance as alleged by the BJP.
Learning a few lessons from the recently held Punjab poll, the Congress has announced that all the “poor”, or in other words, the below poverty line (BPL) families would be given wheat at Rs 3 per kg and rice at Rs 5 per kg and finger millet at Rs 3 per kg. The Congress has also announced that if voted to power a drought relief package would be released for the farmers giving small farmers a compensation ranging between Rs 2000 and Rs 3000.
The people of this newly curved out state, however, appear to be in no mood to take the promises at face value and are questioning the Congress leaders about the projects undertaken and completed during the past five years. “We will judge each candidate by his performance and ensure that no shirkers or candidates with tainted pasts get back to the Vidhan Sabha”, says Mr Munish Rawat, a local law student, echoing a common sentiment.
Retaining Dehra Dun as the State capital versus moving the State capital to another location has created a lot of heat, with clashing interests pressing both ways. UKD chief B.D Raturi is in favour of moving the capital to another location and has made the issue as one of its major poll plank. Succumbing to rising pressure, the Congress has promised to solve the issue within one year and has also resolved to set up a Vidhan Parishad in the state.
The decision of the Uttarakhand Chief Minister and senior Congress leader N D Tiwari to himself stay away from the contest has caused some setback to the party which appears to be rudderless. State Congress President Harish Rawat, a known detractor of Mr Tiwari, is being projected as the new Chief Minister in certain quarters. However, the functioning of Mr Rawat during the past five years does not make him the best choice for running the government, according to some.
