By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 12 Aug: Tehri: In a dramatic turn of events in the Tehri Zila Panchayat Chairperson election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cancelled the ticket of Sona Sajwan at the last moment and officially declared Ishita Sajwan as its candidate. Following this decision, Ishita Sajwan was elected unopposed to the prestigious post. The development comes as a major political surprise not only for the Congress but also for political observers, as the BJP had initially nominated former Zila Panchayat Chairperson Sona Sajwan, who had already filed her nomination papers. However, in an overnight move, the party leadership withdrew her candidature and authorised Ishita Sajwan as official candidate in her place. Sona Sajwan subsequently withdrew her nomination, paving the way for Ishita’s unopposed election.
This sudden switch was prompted by the political equation on the ground. The Congress, which had more members than the BJP this time, had not put up a strong candidate of its own and had to instead support independent aspirant Ishita Sajwan. Sensing the possibility of the Congress uniting behind Ishita, the BJP swiftly changed its strategy and convinced her to represent the party. This manoeuvre left the Congress sidelined and reportedly regretting its lack of assertive decision-making.
It may be recalled that Sona Sajwan, who withdrew her candidature as the official BJP candidate had served as Tehri Zila Panchayat Chairperson for two consecutive terms and was widely considered a formidable contender for a third stint. But the BJP’s last-minute move effectively ended her hopes of retaining the position.
The development in Tehri is not a solitary development in the state as far as the ongoing District Panchayat polls are concerned but similar actions have been witnessed in several places where the BJP is actively securing uncontested victories. Several party candidates have been declared elected without opposition to the posts of Zila Panchayat Chairman and Block Pramukh even before the polls. The BJP has bagged unopposed victories in five Zila Panchayat Chairman seats and eleven Block Pramukh seats.
Those elected unopposed as Zila Panchayat Chairpersons are Ishita Sajwan from Tehri, Ramesh Chauhan from Uttarkashi, Anand Singh Adhikari from Champawat, Ajay Maurya from Udham Singh Nagar, and Jitendra Prasad from Pithoragarh.
Similarly, in the Block Pramukh elections, eleven candidates have been elected unopposed. These include Anchala Bora from Champawat, Chandraprabha from Kashipur, Upkar Singh from Sitarganj, Sarita Rana from Khatima, Mamta Panwar from Bhatwari, Rajdeep Parmar from Dunda, Rajesh Nautiyal from Jakhanidhar, Suman Sajwan from Chamba, Narayan Thakur from Vikasnagar, Lata Devi from Pabo, and Meenakshi Arya from Takula.
