By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 20 Mar: The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal is also preparing to contest the Lok Sabha Polls and has announced its candidates on 4 out of 5 seats in Uttarakhand.
The names of the candidates were announced by UKD Central President Puran Singh Kathait at a press conference, here, today. Kathait informed media that the party would field Ashutosh Negi from Garhwal (Pauri) seat, Mohan Aswal from Haridwar seat, Shiv Singh Rawat (ex-serviceman) from Nainital, and Arjun Dev from the Almora seat. In addition, UKD has decided to support the candidature of independent candidate Bobby Panwar from the Tehri seat.
The UKD Central President added that the party will not field any candidate from Tehri. Instead, it has decided to support the candidature of Bobby Panwar, an activist and President of the Uttarakhand Unemployed Union. It may be recalled that Panwar was in the news for agitating against the Dhami Government when some irregularities had taken place in recruitments to various government departments being undertaken by Uttarakhand Subordinate Staff Selection Commission (UKSSSC).
Puran Singh Kathait claimed that the party will contest the Lok Sabha elections with full strength. Claiming that it was because of the struggle led by UKD that the state of Uttarakhand had been created, he said the party would make a strong comeback in the state. He said the UKD will fight to win all the 4 seats that it has decided to contest. Kathait claimed that national parties like BJP and Congress have exploited the sentiments of the people of the state and have not done anything substantial for development and people’s welfare, in general, and in the hills in particular. The condition of education and health departments in the hills and plains is really bad. Reminding that, both, BJP and Congress have ruled the state for long but have deprived the people of the state of basic facilities like better education and health.
Kathait added that unemployment is rising sharply in the state, particularly in the hills. Due to lack of employment opportunities in the hills, migration of the youth and the families from the mountains continues unabated. But the government has done nothing to stem this trend.
In response to the questions of media persons, Kathait claimed that, in the Lok Sabha polls, the major issues for the UKD are strict Land Laws and restriction for outsiders on purchasing land in the state, unemployment and corruption.
It may be recalled that UKD was a major political force in the state at the time of Uttarakhand’s formation. Although, it could never win a Lok Sabha seat, but it used to win three to five assembly seats and even had a minister from the party in the BC Khanduri Government in Diwakar Bhatt and, later, Preetam Singh Panwar in the Vijay Bahuguna and Harish Rawat led Congress Government. However, it has since faded away due to several factors. These factors include inner power struggle among the party leaders, a weak organisational structure and the party’s adherence to only emotional issues such as Gairsain as the permanent capital.
