By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 20 Aug: Pradesh Congress Committee Chief and former MLA from Srinagar, Ganesh Godiyal today dismissed any possible negative impact on Congress as a result of Srinagar Mayor Aarti Bhandari joining the BJP.
Speaking to media persons, Godiyal asserted that Aarti Bhandari was originally from the BJP and has merely returned to her old party, so her decision makes no difference to Congress. It may be recalled that in a major political development, Srinagar Mayor Aarti Bhandari, her husband and social activist Lakhpat Bhandari along with 10 municipal corporators joined the BJP in Dehradun yesterday. Among the municipal corporators who joined the BJP yesterday also included some Congress ones.
Godiyal raised sharp questions over the ten municipal corporators who also joined the BJP alongside her, particularly those belonging to the Scheduled Caste community. He said they should have remembered the recent controversy in Haldwani where, after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s programme, BJP supporters allegedly carried out a ritual of “purification” of the stage. Godiyal added that at a time when the Dalit community and common people are deeply agitated over such incidents, these municipal corporators have placed their personal interests above social concerns.
Godiyal added that contesting elections on the Congress symbol and then joining the BJP at such a juncture clearly shows that they are more concerned about themselves than about society. Godiyal also dismissed allegations of objectionable slogans being raised during Kharge’s rally in Haldwani, calling them baseless. He accused Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of lying on this issue. He said that the CM should provide proof of such slogans having been raised and accused him of once again nurturing falsehoods in pursuit of his political ambitions.
It may be recalled that there have been allegations that Islamic slogans were raised by a section of the crowd during Kharge’s rally in Haldwani.
It may be pertinent to remind here that Aarti Bhandari was a BJP leader who had been seeking the BJP ticket for the post of Mayor of Srinagar from where Cabinet Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat is the local MLA. However, sources claim that under the influence of Dhan Singh Rawat, the BJP ticket in the last Mayoral election was given to Asha Upadhyay. Thereafter, Aarti Bhandari contested as an independent candidate and was considered to be the rebel BJP candidate there and won against the official BJP candidate Asha Upadhyay by a reasonable margin. This development was seen as a personal setback for Dhan Singh Rawat. Bhandari’s subsequent victory as an Independent had therefore acquired considerable political significance and was seen as a direct indication of the strength of her personal support base in the constituency.
Therefore, Bhandari’s return to the BJP, this time along with 10 elected independent municipal councillors, assumes added significance. The development gives Rawat a boost as he prepares for what is expected to be a keenly contested Assembly election from Srinagar. However, with the return of Aarti Bhandari in the party fold, Dhan Singh Rawat has certainly got a major boost to his campaign in Srinagar for the upcoming assembly elections where his arch rival Ganesh Godiyal is again expected to be the Congress candidate.
As against this, the development has largely been seen by the political observers as a personal setback for Ganesh Godiyal as the sources claim that the party has also been trying to woo Aarti Bhandari to bring her into the Congress fold. The episode has stirred fresh debate in Srinagar’s local politics, with discussions on how the new alignments may influence the coming elections.
