NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Tara Shankar Sahay in Nainital
Even though the Bharatiya Janata Party is pretty gung-ho about clinching the Nainital constituency, that has not prevented it from categorizing it as a "B" prospect.
Nainital district party chief Kishen Pande admitted to rediff.com that while the Dhari and Mukteshwar seats were categorised as "A", Haldwani and Nainital were classified as "B".
Like in Haldwani, the BJP leadership is banking on its "committed" votes in Nainital to bail it out from what appears to be a tricky situation.
This is because the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal candidate, Dr Narayan Singh Jantwal, has struck a chord with the voters because of his "personal" style of campaigning and clean image.
The irony, however, is that Jantwal has lost four times from this constituency.
"It was due to my efforts that Uttrakhand (Uttaranchal) was created and the BJP merely hijacked my issue," Jantwal said.
Even Pande revealed admiration for the UKD candidate. "He has enthused many locals, who are openly saying that he deserves a chance to be in the state assembly," he said.
Jantawal is canvassing from door to door, telling the voters that while he cannot promise miracles, they can at least expect a determined fight from him to raise issues concerning the common people.
"I have voted for various candidates, but this time my vote will go to Jantwal," said Maya Joshi while biting on a burger in a fast-food outlet on Mall Road.
There are 17 candidates in the fray, including Shanti Mehra of the BJP and Maya Bisht of the Congress.
"How can Jantwal win when his UKD does not have the infrastructure or the organisation to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Uttaranchal," Mehra asked.
"It is our party that has given Uttaranchal to its people. We have just been in power for 15 months. We need more time to carry on developmental activities in the state," she pleaded.
Mehra has brought out a 39-point brochure which list all the things that her party has done in the state, including providing "respect to local martyrs" and employment opportunities to 4,600 teachers.
Local BJP activist Pratap Bhanu Sharma, however, said that the party might suffer, as it has not been able to effectively communicate to the people the developmental activities that it has undertaken.
That is why the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party candidates are "unleashing disinformation about the BJP," he said.
Referring to the BJP candidate's claims pertaining to the development of Uttaranchal, Bisht said: "These are tall claims. Can she prove any of these?"
"The BJP is spreading lies, but the locals know better. The BJP candidate will know when she bites the dust," she added.
Tell us what you think of this report
Call India
