Kedarnath by-polls: Old rivals are pitched against each other on political turf

India News

BJP and Congress have now announced their candidates for the Kedarnath by-poll. While BJP’s nominee is party’s old horse Asha Nautiyal, Congress has given its ticket to its former MLA Manoj Rawat. Both Nautiyal and Rawat will file their nomination papers today. Kedarnath by-poll is all set to witness a direct contest between Rawat and Nautiyal.

Kedarnath by-polls: Old rivals are pitched against each other on political turf

Dehradun: With the announcement of candidates by both the parties- ruling BJP and Opposition Congress, Kedarnath by-poll is all set to witness a battle between two old political rivals.

While Congress has given its ticket to former MLA Manoj Rawat, BJP has selected its old horse Asha Nautiyal who is also state president of the BJP’s “Mahila Morcha”.

BJP’s concern for putting up a good show in Kedarnath by-poll

Nautiyal’s selection as BJP nominee clearly reflects her party’s concern for putting up a good show in Kedarnath by-poll. BJP has apparently kept all political equations of the Kedarnath assembly seat before taking its decision to announce the name of Nautiyal as its nominee. BJP is in no mood to leave anything to chance to register its victory in Kedarnath by-poll.

Nautiyal remains BJP’s face in Kedarnath

Nautiyal, who was elected to the state assembly from Kedarnath in 2002 and 2007, will contest the Kedarnath by-poll as BJP nominee for the fourth time. Nautiyal is a native of Dilmi village under Ukhimath block. She was elected as member of the Zila Panchayat unanimously from a ward of the same Ukhimath in 1996. In 1997-98, BJP elevated her to the position of the party’s Rudraprayag district vice president.

Nautiyal’s return to BJP after revolting against the party in 2017

After being denied ticket by her party, she contested as an independent candidate from Kedarnath seat in 2017 assembly polls and faced defeat. In 2016, then Congress MLA Shaila Rani Rawat had joined BJP. Rawat was BJP’s nominee for this seat in 2017. Later, she returned to the BJP and became active in her Kedarnath constituency. BJP ensured all respect for her within the party and made her state vice president of the party’s Mahila Morcha. Nautiyal played an important role in her party’s membership drive in the Kedarnath area recently.

Congress selects its popular face of Kedarnath

On the contrary, the opposition Congress has once again put its trust in its former MLA from Kedarnath Manoj Rawat. Manoj, who was a journalist before his entry into politics, was first elected to the state assembly from the Kedarnath seat in 2017. Then, Manoj became Congress party’s choice for contesting from Kedarnath seat in a difficult political situation for his party. Shaila Rani Rawat, then Congress MLA from Kedarnath seat, left the Congress and joined the BJP. Manoj tasted defeat as Congress nominee in 2022 assembly polls. Manoj is known for his popularity among the voters in Kedarnath seat.

Namita is an Assistant News Editor at News9 Live. She has reported on a range of issues from Uttarakhand for mainstream papers such as The Hindu and websites such as Firstpost.com. She has also covered elections in the hill state for both Deccan Herald and The Hindu. Her passion is dissecting the politics of Uttarakhand and meeting and understanding the principal political actors of the state. Namita did PG Diploma in Journalism from AMU and later she pursued MJMC, when not busy writing, she loves to spend time with books, poetry and fiction as well as nonfiction.

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