By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 13 Mar: The BJP has announced 72 more candidates for the Lok Sabha elections from across 10 states. From Uttarakhand, BJP has announced candidates from both the remaining seats, Garhwal (Pauri) and Haridwar. As was being speculated, outgoing Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni has been made the party candidate from Garhwal (Pauri) seat, replacing the sitting MP, Tirath Singh Rawat, while former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has been given the ticket from Haridwar constituency, replacing two-time sitting MP, former CM and former Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
It may be recalled that Anil Baluni, who is currently national media-in-charge was not repeated as Rajya Sabha MP, recently, in spite of being very close to the party high command and, since then, it was being speculated that he may be asked to contest the Lok Sabha election from Garhwal (Pauri). Garhwal Post had also indicated this at the time when Baluni was not repeated as Rajya Sabha candidate after completing his first term and, in his place, BJP State Chief Mahendra Bhatt was made the candidate. Bhatt has, since then, been elected to the Rajya Sabha.
Sources were already apprehending that the sitting MP from Haridwar, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, may not be repeated as the party candidate, particularly in the wake of the fact that two years earlier, Nishank, who was holding the high profile portfolio of Union Education Minister, had been suddenly asked to quit. Since then, it was being believed by many political analysts that he had lost the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, therefore, may even be replaced as MP from Haridwar. Sources also claimed that Trivendra Singh Rawat, who has been given the party ticket from Haridwar, had been lobbying for the party ticket from Pauri-Garhwal seat. However, it appears that Rawat had been told about his possible candidature from Haridwar seat and, therefore, in the past few days had become quite active in that Parliamentary constituency. Incidentally, though Trivendra Singh Rawat belongs to Pauri district, his political arena has been Dehradun. In fact, his assembly constituency, Doiwala, which he held several times is also part of the Parliamentary constituency of Haridwar.
As far as the Garhwal-Pauri seat is concerned, it may be recalled that the sitting MP, Tirath Singh Rawat, had been made the CM a year before the state Assembly elections in 2021, replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat, but in the period of four months that he remained CM, Tirath Singh Rawat had failed to create a positive enough impression as a leader able to lead the state. Therefore, he was asked to quit under the pretext that he would not be able to contest a bypoll in order to continue as CM. Since then, it was being speculated that Tirath Singh Rawat may also be replaced as the party candidate from this seat. The speculation regarding both the seats has turned out to be true.
With the announcement of BJP candidates from Haridwar and Pauri, the BJP’s list of candidates from the state is complete, while the Congress is yet to declare candidates from Haridwar and Nainital seats.
