As the state inches closer towards the much-awaited Assembly elections, the majority of the opinion polls have predicted that the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to retain power this year’s tight electoral contest in the hilly state of Uttarakhand.
The BJP, on its part, is also leaving no stone unturned to retain the power in the state. During his recent visit to Kedarnath Dham PM Modi inaugurated several development projects there. Recently, when PM Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 17,500 crore in Haldwani in Uttarakhand, he said that this decade belonged to Uttarakhand.
Lately, in the state of Uttrakhand, everything appears to be falling into place and in the BJP’s favour. Prior to March 2021, however, the scenario in the state was not so favourable for the incumbent BJP government. The sadhus and saints, whose feelings and emotions are crucial in this Char Dham state, appeared outraged. Alongside, rebellious voices began to emerge within the party. at this time, Uttarakhand witnessed a change of Chief Minister, resulting in a large churn in the Uttarakhand BJP. Trivendra Singh Rawat was replaced by Tirath Singh Rawat in March 2021.
One element that worked in the BJP’s favour was that both Trivendra Singh Rawat and Tirath Singh Rawat were affiliated with the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), therefore there was neither any conflict and nor was any development projects stalled as a result of the change of leadership in Uttarakhand.
Despite this, the situation seemed to be quite grim for the BJP government in the state. Speculations were rife that changing Uttarakhand CM may spell trouble for BJP in elections.
The situation reached Maharashtra’s Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who previously served as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and is one of the state’s most senior figures. He also met with a group of BJP legislators to discuss the issue. The Congress in the state had suddenly become pro-active, openly criticising numerous BJP officials in the state.
It may be noted that Uttarakhand is a state where the OBC community, as well as Brahmins and Rajputs, are politically significant.
Even though the opposition did not accuse the BJP of corruption in the state during this time, it was alleged that the bureaucracy was acting arbitrarily and that BJP workers/leaders were unable to get any job done for the public. In such a situation, CM Tirath Singh Rawat’s controversial remark over ‘ripped jeans’ had added salt to BJP’s injuries in the state. Additionally, in July 2021, since Tirath Singh Rawat could not become a member of the Uttarakhand Assembly, which he needed to within 6 months of becoming the CM, he resigned citing “constitutional crisis”. Until this time, he couldn’t even quell the sages’ and saints’ anger with the ‘Char Dham Devasthanam Board.’
Latest polls show BJP getting an edge in Uttarakhand Assembly polls, CM Dhami the first choice
On January 2, Times Now Navbharat conducted a survey in which BJP emerged as a clear winner in the upcoming 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly polls. According to the projections, BJP will comfortably acquire 42-48 seats in the 70-member house. The Congress is estimated to finish a distant second with 12 to 16 seats and AAP, managing just to make its entry in the assembly with four to seven seats. The high point of the survey was, however, something different.
The highlight of the survey was that when the respondents were asked about the most preferred CM, Uttrakhand’s incumbent CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, who took charge of the post merely 6 months ago, emerged to be the favourite. Almost 40.15% of the respondents predicted that Dhami would return as the CM of Uttrakhand. Interestingly, 73-year-old Congress bigwig Harish Rawat, who has been ignored by the party leadership, remains to be the second choice, with 25.89% of respondents still putting the weight behind him for the next CM of Uttarakhand. Surprisingly, his own party isn’t betting on him and has even issued angry statements against the high leadership.
AAP has entered the fray with Colonel Ajay Kothiyal as their CM candidate, but sadly only 14.25% felt that he might have a chance and make it to the CM position in the Uttarakhand polls.
What changed for BJP in the state of Uttarakhand
Maximum people were of the opinion that for the ruling BJP, changing three chief ministers within a span of four months in Uttarakhand may prove to be its Achilles’ heel in the 2022 assembly election. Then, what changed for BJP. First and foremost, the newly appointed CM of Uttarakhand- Pushkar Singh Dhami. Although he is the state’s youngest Chief Minister, the people of the state have known his name for a long time. Yes, he hasn’t been in the news in a few years. Dhami, 46, rose to prominence 20 years ago today as an ‘Officer on Special Duty’ and advisor to then-Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Pushkar Singh Dhami, who graduated from Lucknow University with an LLB degree, was elected state president of the BJP Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in 2008. During this time, he is credited with securing 70 per cent reservations for local youngsters in the state’s industry. He was previously affiliated with the ‘Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)’. In such a situation, Dhami, a resident of Tundi village in Kumaon’s Pithoragarh district, has been involved with the state from the start. His ancestors came from the village of Harkhola in this district.
Dhami represents Udham Singh Nagar’s Khatima Assembly Constituency. For the second time in a row, he has won from this position and will now attempt a hat-trick. Though he never held any ministerial office before becoming Chief Minister, he garnered a lot of support from the state’s students, which he is currently reaping the benefits of. Clearly, this favours the BJP as well. He is not even a name that the general public is unfamiliar with, having been prominent in student/youth politics since the 1990s.
What changed for the BJP in the state? The decisions that raised hopes for the upcoming election
The popularity of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami among the state’s youth went on to become the first major factor working in the BJP’s favour. The second and one of the most crucial points was that he managed to cater to the grievances of Sadhus in the state by rolling back the ‘Chardham Devasthanam Management Act.’ Hindu activists and the priests of the Chardham have been objecting to the board’s formation, seeing it as an infringement on their rights, and have been calling for its abolition.
Hindus were overjoyed with the ruling. This is why, when PM Modi arrived here after the reconstruction of Kedarnath to inaugurate development projects and the Shankaracharya statue, nearly all of the state’s great Sadhus and saints were present on the occasion.
Dhami managed to turn the tables in his govt’s favour by taking the timely decision sensing the mood of the public, otherwise, Congress had tried its best to foment trouble for the BJP by proclaiming that it would disband the board as soon as it acquired power. But his efficient management and strategy seized the opportunity from Congress’ hands. This timely decision helped PM Modi’s dream project to be completed without a hitch, and the popular outrage in Rudraprayag subsided, apart from Uttarkashi and Chamoli. The BJP received a timely boost from this judgement.
Recently, during the BJP rally at the Parade Ground in Dehradun, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen patting Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on the back and placing his hand on his shoulder. Though PM Modi had already lauded CM Dhami in Kedarnath, the message of PM Modi’s hand on his shoulders in the Dehradun rally, however, made it clear that he is pleased with CM Dhami’s tenure thus far.
This gesture had made people believe that PM Modi sent a similar message to BJP leaders in Uttarakhand as he had in Uttar Pradesh when he had similarly patted Yogi Adityanath, who had then gone on to become the CM face of BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The relevance of this gesture will be discussed in the near term due to the importance of symbols in politics.
The third major point is that the BJP’s internal turmoil has ceased, whilst the Congress-AAP is in jeopardy. Defection is common during elections, yet it does little to affect the BJP. Although AAP’s functioning state president joined the Congress, and BJP leader Yashpal Arya joined the party with his son Sanjeev, these decisions were made for personal reasons, and the BJP is unlikely to suffer a loss.
The BJP has appointed Prahlad Joshi, who is in charge of the coal and mining department, in charge of the party in Uttarakhand, in addition to parliamentary affairs at the centre. He has stated unequivocally that the party will run for office under the leadership of Pushkar Singh Dhami and will return to power in 2022. He stated that the party has no doubts about Pushkar Singh Dhami and that he will stay as Chief Minister. Farmers’ wrath has lessened as a result of the repeal of agricultural rules, therefore the BJP has no significant obstacles.
Furthermore, while Pushkar Singh Dhami’s ideas are occasionally discussed, they do not cause any problem within the party. Dhami has also established himself as a popular CM, having lately played cricket with BJYM leaders.
Besides, PM Modi’s promotion of the game, interacting with players and boosting their morale, the establishment of the ‘Major Dhyan Chand Sports University in Meerut and BJP’s ‘Sankalp Yatra’ that began in Dehradun, are all in line with Dhami’s strategy that is clearly working in his favour.
Dhami further, with his presence of mind, managed to put media speculations, about the resignation of party senior leader Harak Singh Rawat, to rest. For a while, there were speculations that there was discontent in the party ranks and Uttarakhand BJP’s senior leader Harak Singh Rawat was in touch with the Congress and was likely to join the party after resigning from BJP. This speculation too, was skillfully, put to rest by Dhami when he tweeted a picture of himself and Rawat having food together at his residence after a meeting on December 26.
मंत्रिमंडल में मेरे साथी श्री हरक सिंह रावत जी ने रात्रिभोज पर मुलाक़ात कर राज्य के समसामयिक विषयों पर चर्चा की।@drhsrawatuk pic.twitter.com/45ggE9ekXY
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) December 25, 2021
The media propaganda was soon busted when after the dinner, Harak Singh Rawat went on to call Dhami his younger brother.
The question now is whether Dhami, like this ‘damage control,’ would help the BJP get a larger majority in Uttarakhand. That’s what the data and projections at least reflect.
