By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun 11 Aug: BJP State President Mahendra Bhatt today claimed that his party will declare its candidate for the Bageshwar by-election soon who will file the nomination on 16 August in the presence of the Chief Minister and him, along with a large number of party leaders and supporters. He reminded that the party has forwarded a panel of 3 names to the Central Parliamentary Board, which will soon take a final decision.
Bhatt was speaking informally with media persons at the BJP State Headquarters here today.
Bhatt said that the candidate will be decided according to the consent of the workers and keeping in mind public sentiments. Former cabinet minister, the late Chandan Ramdas had been working for the betterment of Bageshwar region throughout his life, and hence there is lot of goodwill towards his family among the local public and workers. With the consent of the workers there, the party would nominate a candidate who would reflect the sentiments of the people by completing the unfinished tasks of the late Ramdas.
Bhatt also claimed that, unlike the BJP, the Congress is finding it difficult to get a suitable candidate to contest the by-election. The Congress party is now looking for names beyond the party, too, he further claimed. Responding to a question asked about the challenge of the Congress, he said that, while doing positive politics, the BJP contests elections to win and the Congress is these days contesting only to give a symbolic fight. While the BJP selects party candidates as per its pre-determined policy, the Congress has to look for candidates not only within but also outside the party fold. Bhatt claimed that BJP will win with a record margin while the Congress candidate will lose his or her security deposit.
Regarding a video released by the Congress State President, Karan Mahara, regarding the poor condition of roads, Bhatt claimed that in spite of the regular obstructions and calamities during the ongoing monsoons, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ensured better management and most of the roads are being opened within a few hours after getting blocked. He sought to remind that, during Congress rule, many roads remained closed for a number of days and even for a month during the rains. He called upon Mahara to also release videos of the roads after they are opened so that the public is not misled and the image of the state is not affected unnecessarily.
