Resentment brews against hopeful CM’s daughter

Sandeep Rawat

Tribune News Service

Haridwar January 16

The Haridwar rural segment is hogging the limelight this time owing to Anupama Rawat, Women Congress national general secretary and daughter of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, speculated to contest from this segment making her debut in electoral politics.

Though this has also resulted in resentment among some local leaders who are in hope of getting Congress ticket this time.

Among them, last election loser from Congress Irshad Ali has also shown his displeasure over Anupama’s candidature by resigning from the post of Uttarakhand Weaver Commission chairperson.

Irshad had last time polled (21,284) votes while Swami Yatishwaranand emerged winner with total (25,159) votes. Bahujan Smaaj Party candidate Shesh Raj Singh bagged 19,158 votes while Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha candidate Shri Kant Verma came fourth with 6,452 votes.

At many public meetings and media briefings, Irshad Ali has sought for ticket though making it clear that he is a dedicated party worker and is not opposing Anupama Rawat.

A major issue on which sitting BJP legislator Swami Yatishwaranand had fought the last Assembly poll was on granting the status of tehsil to this rural segment which couldn’t be achieved by the saint-turned politician in his five-year tenure.

Opposition parties are raising this issue along with delay in construction of the Rawasan river bridge and the segment still lacking a full-fledged government hospital and degree college.

Swami Yatishwaranand, who entered politics in capacity of being a student union president of Gurukul Kangri University, says that he made constant attempt to pave way for the teshil status for the segment but due to biased attitude of the Congress government, it can’t be achieved.

Assuring that if in this election, the BJP is voted to power, it will be his major priority to get the teshil status to the Haridwar rural segment.

He cites granting of sub-teshil status to Lal Dhang, opening of a Industrial Technical Institute (ITI), recarpeting of several roads, flood embankments, upgrading of several schools and optimum utilisation of his fund for small development and infrastructure projects as his major achievements.

Swami Yatishwaranand also said unlike other legislators, he remained in touch with the people of his segment and also resorted to agitation on several public issue like construction of the Rawasan bridge.

“Due to my efforts sanctioning of project for the Rawasan bridge fructified as I sat for several days on agitation with local villagers. We also staged an agitation which draw the major attention of people and state government was pressured to sanction the bridge project. Though its another matter that Chief Minister Harish Rawat laid foundation stone of the Rawasan bridge last year and I was not even invited for the function. Yet villagers of more than 12 villages who are suffering due to lack of bridge at Rawasan in community, know my sincere efforts done for the cause,”said Swami Yatishwaranand.

He added that his tenure was development-oriented and left over projects would be completed if people of this rural segment elect him for the second consecutive term.

Irshad Ali terms Swami Yatishwaranand’s tenure as a failure, saying mass-scale illegal quarrying was done during his tenure which affected the local ecology.

He even alleged the legislator being hand in gloves with the quarrying mafia and a majority of his election campaign funds was funded by it and this time too they were backing him as their interests were looked after by the BJP legislator.

Sukhvinder Kaur, zila panchayat member of Lal Dhangt, said if Anupama Rawat was given ticket, she would win with a record margin owing to her mass appeal among all sections of society and no other Congress leader from the segment was in a position of winning the seat, while due to her active presence for the past seven years in rural segment, Anupama held major influence among rural voters

The Bahujan Samaj Party has replaced Shesh Raj Saini with Mohammed Mukkaram Ansari, who is confident of opening the BSP account from the rural segment.

Kumari Sonam, a BEd student, said lack of proper educational institutes and colleges in the area were a major concern for the youth.

“The youth have to either go to Haridwar or Roorkee for higher technical education and lack of proper local transport connectivity adds to the problems of students as well as local residents,” said Sonam.

Dhapura-based resident Vijay Saini and Badshahpur resident Nawab Khan said conditions of the road is in a dilapidated condition in their respective areas and the MLALAD fund has also been distributed in only pro-BJP pockets and also those close to the BJP legislator only.

A total of 1,18,156 voters will cast their votes in this Assembly election with 54,852 female voters and 63,924 male voters. The segment comprises whole rural belts of Bishanpur Kundi, Panjan Hedi, Bhogpur, Bahadur Jat, Pherupur, Dhanpura, Badshahpur, Sherpur, Pherupur, Phoolgadh, Durgagadh, Shibragadh, Tanda, Mazada, Ramkhera of Haridwar tehsil with Muslim voters holding major say with approximately 40,000 voters.