These five seats of Uttarakhand became the question of the nose of the veterans, every candidate wants to win from here.

In the second phase of assembly elections, voting is being held for 70 assembly seats of Uttarakhand on Monday. This is probably the first time that three candidates are clearly in the fray for the chief minister’s post. This time too the main contest is seen between the ruling BJP and the Congress, but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is making its presence felt as a third force. In the 2017 assembly elections, the BJP formed a government with a thumping majority by winning 57 out of 70 seats, although political observers believe that this time the contest is tough. The BBC took stock of the status of those five out of 70 seats on which victory and defeat will not only affect the election result, but will also have an impact on post-election politics.

1-Haridwar Rural

In Haridwar Rural seat, Anupama Rawat, daughter of former Chief Minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat, is challenging the two-time MLA and state cabinet minister Swami Yatheeswaranand.

In 2017, Harish Rawat contested from this seat while being the Chief Minister and was defeated by Swami Yatheeswaranand. It is being said that Anupama Rawat is in the fray to avenge her father’s defeat. Anupama Rawat is giving a tough competition to Swami Yatheeswaranand in Haridwar rural, but efforts are being made against him by strategizing like his father Harish Rawat.”

The BSP has fielded a Muslim candidate, which is expected to divide the votes of Muslims. This will directly harm the Congress.

However, Dharmendra Choudhary says that this time most of the Muslim voters have made up their mind to vote to defeat the BJP and hence the Muslim vote may not be divided this time. 80 percent Muslim vote can go to Anupama Rawat. Apart from this, she will also make a dent in other votes. Pahari voters can also support Congress in large numbers. The biggest thing is that this time there is no Modi wave in which many big leaders including Harish Rawat were blown away in the last elections. This time the competition is looking like a thorn.

If Anupama Rawat wins the election from Haridwar rural, then Harish Rawat will be established in the politics of Uttarakhand as the political successor. Otherwise, his defeat in the tough competition this time may cost the party dearly.

2-Gadarpur

Uttarakhand’s School Education Minister Arvind Pandey is in the fray from Gadarpur. In this seat, he is facing challenge from Premanand Mahajan of Congress and Jarnail Singh Kali of Aam Aadmi Party.

One of the many electoral myths of Uttarakhand is that the state’s education minister has never won the next election. Arvind Pandey also has a challenge to break this myth.

According to local journalist Chandan Bangari, “The Education Minister is getting a good challenge from Congress candidate Premanand Mahajan in Gadarpur seat. The good thing in his favor is that there is no factionalism against him within the party.”

Mahajan also comes from the Bengali community present in large numbers in the area. Apart from this, Gadarpur is included in those seats on which the farmers’ movement has a good effect.

Aam Aadmi candidate Janrail Singh Kali is also registering his presence in Gadarpur seat and it is believed that he too can garner a lot of votes.

The defeat or victory of the incumbent education minister in Gadarpur seat will confirm or break an electoral myth. Apart from this, the impact of the farmers’ movement on a few seats in Uttarakhand will also be investigated by this election result.

3-Salt

The Salt seat of Almora is a seat with far-reaching impact on Congress politics and especially Harish Rawat’s politics.

After much uproar, Congress has fielded Ranjit Rawat, one of the party’s four working presidents, from Salt this time. In political circles, it is not hidden from anyone that Ranjit Rawat, who was once a close friend of Harish Rawat, is now his staunch opponent.

Ranjit Rawat became MLA from Salt in 2007, but in 2012 and 2017 he had to face defeat at the hands of BJP’s Surendra Singh Jeena. After this he moved to Ramnagar and he was active in Ramnagar for the last five years to contest the 2022 elections.

When Congress released its second list, Ramnagar ticket was given to Harish Rawat. Harish Rawat started preparing to contest the election from Ramnagar and Ranjeet Rawat openly expressed his displeasure to come as an independent from Ramnagar itself.

After this the Congress released the revised list and Harish Rawat was fielded from Lalkuan and Ranjit Rawat from his old seat Salt.

Surendra Singh Jeena, who became MLA after defeating Ranjit Rawat twice from Salt, died in 2020 due to Corona. In his place, the BJP had given ticket to his brother Mahesh Jeena, who is now an MLA and also the party’s candidate.

According to local journalists, Ranjit Rawat may have reached Salt late and unwillingly, his position there is not weak. He is giving competition to Mahesh Jeena and the dice may fall either way.

Along with political observers, Harish Rawat will also keep an eye on Ranjit Rawat’s victory and defeat in Salt. If Ranjit Rawat wins from Salt, he will continue to be an open opponent of Harish Rawat in the Congress, around whom the dissidents can find space. If Ranjeet Rawat loses this election, Harish Rawat will become politically stronger and those opposing him will think twice before taking any step.

4-Kotdwar

Kotdwar seat is important in many ways. Due to the defeat from this seat, BJP lost power in 2012.

In 2012, the then Chief Minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri lost the election to Surendra Singh Negi of the Congress in the elections for the formation of the third assembly.

In that election, Congress became the single largest party with 32 seats and BJP lost by one seat. Had Khanduri won, the BJP would have been the single largest party and then it would have got a chance to form the government. Political observers believe that then Khanduri would have formed the government with the BSP and the independents.

In the elections being held for the fifth assembly of Uttarakhand, this time the situation is different from 2017. Political observers believe that the Modi wave is no longer such that despite the anti-incumbency, the BJP can win. While the Aam Aadmi Party is making the matter triangular, the BSP is also in the race for some seats.

In such a situation, the Kotdwar seat can once again prove to be as decisive as in 2012. From here, this time the daughter of General (Retd) BC Khanduri and Yamkeshwar MLA Ritu Khanduri is in the fray on a BJP ticket. In front of him is Surendra Singh Negi of Congress, who defeated Khanduri in 2012. Now the matter has started looking like a collision. Although Ritu Khanduri was looking weak in the beginning, things have changed a bit after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s rally on Saturday, 12 February.

Actually, Ritu Khanduri became MLA from Yamkeshwar seat of Garhwal in 2017. This time the party did not give him a ticket from Yamkeshwar. After the expulsion of sitting MLA from Kotdwar Harak Singh Rawat, the party fielded Ritu Khanduri from Kotdwar at the last moment. BJP leader Dhirendra Chauhan, who was already preparing to contest elections here, got angry with this and went to the independent election fray. The sympathy of party workers was also with Dhirendra Chauhan.

On the other hand, Surendra Singh Negi has been preparing for the elections for the last five years and his hold on the ground is strong.

After Yogi Adityanath campaigned in favor of Ritu Khanduri, the people of Kotdwar and party workers started taking him seriously. After UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath entered the fray on the last day of election campaign, Ritu Khanduri has entered the race because now at least the confusion among party workers about Dhirendra Chauhan or Ritu Khanduri is over. Has gone.

Apart from this, Yogi Adityanath had done his college education from Kotdwar only before taking retirement, so there is some affinity, some warmth among the people about him and it is also likely to have an effect.

Despite this, it cannot be said that Ritu Khanduri is in a strong position. Some experts feel that it is still the same that the lead is of Surendra Singh Negi, although now he is facing a challenge from Ritu Khanduri.

5-Lansdowne

Lansdowne seat of Pauri Garhwal is also in the headlines this time. Here Mahant Dilip Rawat, a two-time BJP MLA, is being challenged by Anukreethy Gusain, daughter-in-law of Harak Singh Rawat, one of the most accomplished sportspersons and one of the most talked-about politicians in Uttarakhand politics, and former beauty queen Anukreethy Gusain.

The importance of this seat adjoining Kotdwar has actually increased due to Harak Singh Rawat. Harak Singh Rawat, active in electoral politics for more than three decades, has lost only one assembly election.

His supporters have been believing that the bungalow allotted to the cabinet minister cannot be snatched from him. In 2002, 2012 and 2017, he was a cabinet minister in the government, in 2007 he got the status of a cabinet minister as Leader of the Opposition.

This is the first time since the formation of the state that he is not in the election fray. He had stuck to the BJP to get his daughter-in-law Anukreethy Gusain to contest and Harak Singh Rawat, who had switched party six times so far, was expelled for the first time.

He also had to publicly apologize for joining the Congress, and the evil for which Harak Singh Rawat is known seemed to be coming to an end. Now all his political skills have to be used only to send Anukreethy Gusain to the assembly.

The sitting MLA Mahant Dilip Rawat had openly expressed displeasure over the demand for Anukreethy Gusain’s ticket from BJP and now Anukreethy is in the fray against him. There was a lot of opposition in the Congress for giving ticket to Anukreethy, but perhaps it is a miracle of Harak Singh’s political skills and money that now no one is openly against him.

However, this does not mean that Anukreethy Gusain has been accepted by all. While Harak Singh Rawat’s Kotdwar MLA, the allegations against him of corruption, supporting illegal mining are also reaching Lansdowne, the seat adjacent to it.

Vinod Rawat, an old friend of Harak Singh Rawat, is campaigning for the BJP candidate. He is going among the people and saying that even after 20 years, he (Harak Sinhal Rawat)