Heavy snowfall and bone-chilling cold conditions have virtually spread a coat of inertia over electioneering for the past one week in Uttarakhand, even as the hill state has hardly a fortnight to go for Assembly polls.
From hills of Harsil in Uttarkashi district to Munsiary in Pithoragarh district, persistent snowfall and rains have cut off hundreds of villages and towns from the rest of the country. The situation is giving sleepless nights to candidates, who are unable to hold campaigns for the January 30 elections.
The rugged state also reported a spate of road accidents during the period, killing over 50 people. Some of them were party workers. Continual rains have made the roads slippery, restricting movement of traffic in the hills, said a top police official. Even on Sunday, hilly Lakhamandal area in Dehradun district reported a road accident (mainly due to bad weather) that killed not less than 10 people. Met office said the disturbed weather conditions would continue for a few more days in the state. During the past few days, no big rallies have been held, especially in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand.
“We are holding prayers for the weather to be clear this Tuesday, when (party president) Sonia Gandhi will come to Tehri to kick-start the party’s election campaign,” said Kishore Upadhayay, a congress MLA from Tehri, which recently experienced the heaviest snowfall in one decade. Upadhayay, who is hoping to score hat-trick from a Tehri this time, said the inclement weather has led him to “mostly rely on padayatras (marches)”.
Like Upadhayay, most of the candidates fear the snowfall and rains will dampen the spirit of electioneering -- and, thereby, the poll results. As snowfall continues in the higher reaches of Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts, the election commission is keeping a close watch on the weather conditions.
In fact, the state election office is of the view that polling should be postponed to mid-February, by when there could be some respite in the harsh weather.
The state election commission has cited the example of Uttar Pradesh, where the first phase of elections was postponed due to a festival. In Uttarakhand too, it is hope that the EC will look into the weather issue and do the needful.