For the main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the October 10 Tehri parliamentary by-election in Uttarakhand may be a routine political exercise, but for the ruling Congress, the stakes seem to be very high even at the national level.
Political analysts see the Tehri by-election as not only the first real test of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s image, but also of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s new economic reforms, including foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail that has triggered an outrage in different quarters.
BJP nominee Mala Raj Laxmi Shah, who belongs to a royal family, contesting the Tehri by-election.
The by-poll has also become a prestige issue for Bahuguna, who has launched his son Saket against Shah in the election. For the past one fortnight, the whole Bahuguna clan, including Rita Bahuguna Joshi, former Uttar Pradesh Congress chief, have put in all efforts to ensure Saket’s victory. Perhaps this is the reason that the chief minister is keeping himself busy with the election campaign these days, addressing four to eight rallies in a day.
A total of 14 candidates are in the fray for the election.
“This election is going to a battle royale between the two most influential families of the Garhwal region. But Saket will have a slight upper edge because the chief minister is not leaving anything to chance and has taken the entire arrangement of the election campaign into his own hands. He has even called his sister (Rita Bahuguna Joshi) and brother Shekhar from Uttar Pradesh to provide psychological support,” said a top Congress leader.
Insiders in the Congress party also claimed that in case Saket wins, it would give a big boost to Bahuguna, who is facing criticism from all quarters on his flip-flop decisions, especially ones related to the rollback in investments in the public-private partnership format.
More From This Section
The high literacy rate in the Tehri parliamentary area can help Congress gauge the mood of the electorate on the new economic reforms of the UPA. “All national issues are widely discussed by the aam admi in the Garhwal region. So it is obvious that when they cast their votes, they will also give careful thought to the economic policies of the Congress-led government at the Centre apart from issues related to the state,” said a political analyst.
In a shrewd move, the chief minister is banking more on the image of his father and late Uttar Pradesh strongman Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna to garner public support, instead of cashing in on the name of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the UPA's policies.
On the other hand, the BJP is not showing much enthusiasm in the Tehri by-poll apparently due to severe differences between the top state party leaders.
“You may see Mala Shah alone in the election arena. But she would definitely be making the best use of her influential family background. Her father in law Manvendra Shah, the scion of the Tehri royal kingdom, had represented the Tehri seat for a record eight times,” said a BJP leader.
The state BJP has also suffered a setback after a couple of top leaders, including former Irrigation Minister Matbar Singh Kandari, joined the Congress.