Cong going to U'khand polls with defeated mentality: BJP

Accusing top Uttarakhand Congress leaders of giving up their constituencies in the hills and moving to the plains out of a "sense of insecurity", the BJP today said the state's ruling party was going to the polls with a "defeated mentality".
"Top Congress leaders including the Chief Minister and the PCC president shifting from their constituencies in the hills to the plains was something unheard of. It shows their sense of insecurity," Union Health Minister and BJP's election incharge for Uttarakhand, JP Nadda told reporters here.
He said migration of youth from the hills to the plains in search of works was a known phenomenon but was "unheard of for leaders".

"Congress is going to polls with a defeated mentality," he claimed.
Switching constituencies by the CM and the PCC chief show their lack of confidence ahead of the February-15 polls, he said.
"Not only that, Congress also seems short of candidates otherwise it would not havefielded candidates who were denied ticket by the BJP," he said.

Shifting from Dharchula in the hills, a seat he represented in the last Assembly, Chief Minister Harish Rawat is to contest this time from two seats in the plains- Kichcha and Haridwar (Rural).
Also, PCC president Kishore Upadhyay has been fielded from Sahaspur in the plains, instead of Tehri in the hills.

Also, Nadda flagged off eight campaign-vehicles, fitted with LED screens, to different directions from the party's state officeto drum up support for the party.
He claimed people were fed up with corruption and had made up their mind to elect BJP to power.
"People are tired of corruption and want a government which delivers. BJP has had a track record of delivering in Uttarakhand. It not only created Uttarakhand, but also gave it special category status and an economic package," Nadda said.
Fitted with LED screens, the eight campaign vehicles will tour different regions of the state and highlight steps taken by the Centre for the welfare of Uttarakhand, including the all-weather chardham road project-- whose foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 27 amid much fanfare.

Slogans like 'Come with BJP and change Uttarakhand', 'Atal Ji ne banaya, Modiji sawarenge (ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee created Uttarakhand, PM Modi will build it)' are written on different sides of the campaign vehicles.
Claiming that demonetisation was a big step towards the country's "economic cleansing", Nadda said drastic measures like these "made people across the country optimistic" about their future under the leadership of Narendra Modi and it will be reflected in the elections.
Refuting the charge of promoting dynastic politics by giving tickets to more than one people from a family, he said, "tickets were distributed strictly on the basis of merit".

"Winnability was a major criterion and surnames were not important. Moreover, it was a collective decision of the party not only mine," he said when asked how both Munna Singh Chauhan and his wife Madhu Chauhan were given tickets by the party.