The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a setback of sorts in Uttarakhand after its senior leader and former Chief Minister BC Khanduri refused to contest elections. With his son having joined the Congress already, there are reports that Manish Khanduri may be the opposition party’s choice for Pauri Garhwal, the seat currently represented by his father. The senior Khanduri has refused to contest citing health reasons.
The euphoria was palpable at the Congress rally in Dehradun on Saturday, where party chief Rahul Gandhi welcomed him. Some leaders also believe that if BC Khanduri decides to contest for his son it would be a game changer
“It is definitely a morale-booster for us (the Congress) that the son of such a senior BJP leader has joined us. But it’s less than a month to voting day (April 11) and if he (Manish) is fielded from Pauri, he’ll have very little time to campaign,” a senior Congress leader was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
BJP has a stronghold in Pauri Garhwal seat, with the support of ex-servicemen and armed forces personnel, party’s vote bank. State Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, current Army chief General Bipin Rawat, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval are from Pauri.
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The BJP is yet to announce its list for the 5 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The party had won all five seats in the 2014 general elections. Polling in Uttarakhand in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be held on April 11. Counting of votes will be held on May 23.