Assembly Election 2022: Will anti-incumbency favour Congress in Uttarakhand polls?

Dehradun: The Congress veteran Harish Rawat and the BJP`s youth bet Pushkar Singh Dhami will have their fingers crossed on Monday when Uttarakhand goes to poll for its 70 members` Assembly. 

Both the Congress and the BJP have battled political instability in the state in the last two decades after it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. The BJP`s task is a twin -- beat the anti-incumbency and also the electoral trend of the incumbent government voted out in the state. Uttarakhand, incidentally, has seen 11 Chief Ministers in the last two decades. The BJP has fielded 11 cabinet Ministers and the state unit president Madan Kaushik in the electoral arena.

Dhami is contesting for the third time from the Khatima Assembly seat against the Congress nominee Bhuwan Chandra Kapri.

Assembly speaker Prem Chand Aggarwal is contesting from Rishikesh against Congress` Jayendra Chand Ramola.

The BJP has fielded sitting MLA and party president Madan Kaushik from the Haridwar seat. He`s challenged by the Congress nominee Satpal Brahmachari. The Congress campaign in the state is led by the poll veteran Harish Rawat, who`s also the chairman of the party`s campaign committee in Uttarakhand. However, both BJP and Congress have avoided declaring their chief ministerial candidates in the elections.

Losing the last three elections on a streak, Rawat is now contesting from a new assembly seat this election.

He has been given a ticket from the Lalkuwa seat, where he will be contesting against Mohan Singh Bisht of BJP.

Other than Rawat, Congress will be closely watching the result of the Haldwani Assembly seat where the party has fielded Sumit Hridayesh, son of senior Congress leader Indira Hridayesh, who had died last year.

The Congress` Sumit will face the BJP`s Jogendra Pal Singh Rautela, who is a two-time Haldwani mayor, while known to have a considerable support base in the constituency. A fierce fight among two-party veterans is likely as the Congress has fielded its state party chief Ganesh Godiyal against Minister and sitting MLA Dhan Singh Rawat from the Srinagar seat.

The new entrant into Uttarakhand politics, Aam Aadmi Party has fielded candidates on all 70 Assembly seats, with its Chief Ministerial face being Ajay Kothiyal.

Kothiyal has been fielded from the Gangotri Assembly seat against Congress state vice president Vijaypal Singh Sajwan. Meanwhile, the BJP has fielded Suresh Singh Chauhan from the seat.

The AAP is banking on the clean image of Kothiyal, National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal`s popularity and development work carried out by the party in the national capital.

The BJP after changing three Chief Ministers in the state in the past five years is banking on its national leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s popularity with an appeal for a pro-incumbency vote.

Congress, on the other hand, has accused the BJP of leaving the state into political instability by changing Chief Ministers.

The voting will begin at 7 am and end at 5 pm after the electioneering came to an end on Saturday, 48 hours before the electorate begin casting their votes. There`re 632 candidates in the electoral fray for 70 Assembly seats.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10.