Shah focusing on Haridwar to win more Assembly seats

Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 24

The second visit of BJP national president Amit Shah to Haridwar tomorrow is aimed at consolidating the position of the party in the district ahead of the Assembly elections in 2017. With 11 Assembly seats, the district sends the largest number of MLAs to the Vidhan Sabha.

In the 2012 Assembly elections, the BJP had bagged the maximum number of five seats. The Congress and the BSP too had won three seats each. Significantly, a few ago, Amit Shah had attended a rally organised by senior BJP leader Satpal Maharaj. Hence while energising party workers at the rally in Haridwar, Shah would also be aiming at increasing their number.

“We will be looking at winning the maximum number of seats in Hardiwar and improving our performance,” said Naresh Bansal, general secretary of the Uttarakhand BJP.

The BJP has already managed to bring former Luxar MLA Kunwar Pratap Champion into its fold and is hopeful that he will get re-elected while contesting the election on the party ticket.

Besides discussing the strategy for the elections, the BJP is expected to take a stand on the dual responsibilites that Ajay Bhatt has been entrusted with. Bhatt is both Leader of the Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha and party president.

Bhatt has been handling the charge of party president after the term of Teerath Singh Rawat ended a few months ago. The party leadership had brought in Bhatt hoping that he would bring in the much needed aggression that seemed to be missing earlier, while taking on the Harish Rawat government.

Under Bhatt, the Uttarakhand BJP did manage to destabilise the Congress by mobilising senior leaders like Vijay Bahuguna and Harak Singh Rawat to mount a rebellion during the budget session that led to the imposition of the President’s rule. However, Bhatt’s stumbling efforts did not yield immediate political gains, as the Harish Rawat government was restored in the state. But on more than one occasion, Bhatt had patted his own back by claiming: “Whatever the results, the Congress has lost nine MLAs and the BJP will benefit from the rebellion of these leaders in the 2017 Assembly elections”.

Against the backdrop of the vote of confidence, Bhatt’s leadership was again wide off the mark, in the just-concluded election to the Rajya Sabha seat.

Significantly, besides sounding the poll bugle in Haridwar, Shah will also be chairing a meeting of the state executive at Haldwani on Sunday. Here, the party leaders are saying the issue of efficacy of vesting dual responsibilities in Bhatt could also be discussed. “Among other things, the issue too will be discussed. The senior leaders will take the final decision and no date has been set,” added Bansal.