Pritam Panwar keen to fight from Dhanaulti, ticket muddle for Cong

Ajay Ramola

Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, January 12

The tussle for the Congress ticket from the Dhanaulti Assembly (general) seat in Tehri Garhwal district has intensified as Urban Development Minister Pritam Panwar is keen to fight the the upcoming elections from the seat instead of his original Yamunotri constituency .

Panwar has made his intentions clear that he wants to contest the elections from Dhanaulti. He native place is near Thatyud in the constituency while he won the 2012 elections from Yamunotri on the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal ticket.

“If Dhanaulti voters want me to contest the elections from the seat, I will respect their feelings,” he said.

Pritam Panwar, a member of the Progressive Democratic Alliance, was the one who became close to Chief Minister Harish Rawat and saved the government during the floor test last year. Since then, he has been in the good books of the Chief Minister. The bonhomie between Harish Rawat and Pritam Panwar has not gone well with other probable candidates from Dhanaulti.

Jot Singh Bisht, state Congress vice-president, contested the last Assembly elections as an Independent candidate as the party fielded Manmohan Singh Mall.

Both Congress leaders were defeated due to vote division, benefiting BJP candidate Mahaveer Singh Rangad who emerged victorious. They are again demanding ticket and have resented any support to Panwar. Congress workers have made their stand clear that they would not support any outsider.

Manmohan Singh Mall, who fought from Dhanaulti on the Congress ticket, believes that he has firm reasons to claims the ticket. “I lost last time due to division of Congress votes between me and Jot Singh Bisht. But there are remote chances that such a scenario will repeat. If given the ticket, I will romp home from Dhanaulti,” said Mall.

Jot Singh Bisht, who has appointed chairman of the Mandi Parishad, has made it clear that he will contest only on the Congress ticket. He has said the love for PDF candidates and any electoral alliance with them could prove detrimental to the party. Of the total 67,079 voters, around 45,814 voted last time.

BJP candidate Mahaveer Singh Rangarh garnered 12,081 votes while Manmohan Singh Mall of the Congress secured 10,933 votes. Jot Singh Bisht received 1,021 votes and stood third. With Panwar’s entry, the political mathematics of the Dhanaulti seat will change drastically, making a dent on the vote share of Congress candidates.

For the BJP, the prospect of sitting MLA Mahaveer Singh Rangarh looks bright, as he may again get the ticket. However, BJP rebel Rajesh Nautiyal is back in the party fold. He had garnered around 6,000 votes in the last elections.