Kedarnath wonders how Congress MLAs they blamed are now BJP candidates

Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath constituency, epicentre of the tragedy, is now a pointer to an electoral contest vaulting on three poles — Congress rebels, Chief Minister Harish Rawat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

People in the holy town are surprised that the BJP has preferred Congress rebel Shaila Rani Rawat, local MLA, whom the BJP had once slammed for poor handling of the Kedarnath tragedy. Rawat is among a dozen Congress defectors given BJP tickets in the small assembly of 70. An internal BJP survey reportedly did not favour her but, as one Congress rebel put it: “Amit Shah had promised us tickets last year. He stood by his word.”

Visits to some 20 constituencies across Garhwal suggested a general sentiment that BJP tickets to Congress rebels have, ironically, diluted the sense of anti-incumbency. “We wanted to vote her out, but what do we do now?” said Govind Ram, another shopkeeper at Gauri Kund.

There has been discontent within the BJP too. Around half a dozen former MLAs including Suresh Jain (Roorkee), Shailendra Singh Rawat (Kotdwar) and Asha Nautiyal (Kedarnath) have resigned protesting the tickets to inductees from the Congress. Nautiyal is contesting as an independent. In his resignation letter, Shailendra wrote that “for their petty interests, senior leaders” have “completely sacrificed the ideals of the party” and “betrayed party workers”. Veena Maharana, another former MLA, resigned after the BJP fielded former Congress minister Yashpal Arya. “The party talks of an internal survey, but the tainted leader was given a ticket within hours,” said Maharana.

Even the Congress rebels have been competing with one another. Harak Singh Rawat, who with Vijay Bahuguna had led the defections, wanted the BJP ticket to Chaubattakhal, but it went to yet another Congress dissident, Satpal Maharaj, nominated at the cost of former state BJP president Teerath Singh Rawat.

“The BJP is a big party. All of them (Congress rebels) will be accommodated,” said former BJP CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Current CM Harish Rawat, for his part, told The Indian Express, “It is good that the BJP has given tickets to all the tainted leaders of the Congress. I now have only committed workers with me.”

While the Congress too faces internal protests over tickets, it has sought to tap the more visible anger within the BJP. The Congress has fielded several former BJP leaders, including Jain (Roorkee), Rajkumar (Purola) and Shailendra (Yamkeshwar). The Congress, however, has limited resources as its ranks are been depleted.

Amid the apparent contradiction in fielding those it had once opposed, the BJP is hoping Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal will override all factors. Many Kedarnath voters, in fact, expressed their faith in Modi.

Vegetable seller Hariram Yadav’s daily earnings have halved after demonetisation but he smiled: “It’s great. Nothing has happened to the poor, lekin amiron ka band baj gaya.” But aren’t sales down? “So what? The rich, who made purchases worth over Rs 1,000 from me, today can buy for only about Rs 200.” Aren’t they now buying from malls? “No,” he said, “they are losing there too.”

The owner of a hotel near Devprayag was annoyed that the BJP has taken in N D Tiwari, but said: “Why blame Modiji? He is not expected to know all that goes on in his party.” He guessed: “Maybe it’s his ran-niti. He will cleanse these Congressmen too.” And Harak Singh said: “Modiji is here to stay. People might have issues, but he is the only choice.”

BJP leaders acknowledge Modi is their only face and admit fielding the Congress rebels has confused voters. “It’s a gamble they (BJP leadership) have taken. Let’s see,” said a veteran BJP MLA from Dehradun.