Party workers’ protest against Khanduri

Dehradun, January 4
In a major embarrassment to Chief Minister B.C Khanduri, who is said to have played a major role in the distribution of the tickets and on whom the central leadership is banking heavily to steer the BJP’s ship in the forthcoming elections, was today given a taste of his own medicine by defiant party workers of Kotdwar, who laid siege of the party headquarters, questioning the logic behind fielding Khanduri from the Kotdwar Assembly seat.

Incensed party workers comprising zila panchayat president and office-bearers of Kotdwar district unit of the BJP said the leadership did not take the sitting MLA (Shailender Singh) Rawat into confidence. “If he was to be made the sacrificial goat, the Chief Minister should have taken him into confidence. But neither Khanduri nor the party leadership took sitting MLA Rawat into confidence,” said Harshvardhan Binjola, vice president of the BJP (Kotdwar Mandal).

Facing the wrath of the party workers since yesterday, the party leaders, who were witness to the protests at the BJP office today, never imagined in their wildest dreams that there would be a revolt against their Chief Minister, who was especially brought back to shore up the party’s dwindling fortunes, ahead of the elections.

In the past president of Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha T.P S Rawat had vacated his Dhumakot seat for Khanduri and then as a quid pro quo move, Khanduri had assured him a Lok sabha berth by tendering resignation from the Garhwal Assembly seat. But this time round denial of seat to Shailender Rawat has angered his supporters. “The elections are before us and Rawat has been tirelessly working in his constituency, but now after he has been left out, it would be difficult for him to look for another seat,” said Kishan Gusain, general secretary of the BJP (Kotdwar Mandal)

In fact the party workers today flayed the central leadership’s reliance on help-book style of electioneering. “There are no manuals available on winning elections. The central leadership has denied the ticket to several sitting MLAs to ward off anti-incumbency. The same rule should apply equally to all the MLAs. But several of them have been given the ticket again,” said Anil Nautiyal, sitting MLA from Karanprayag, who was denied the ticket.

His supporters charged that Harish Pujari, too, managed to get the ticket for Karnprayag Assembly seat because as he was associated with the Bahuguna Vichar Manch, an association that is linked with B.C Khanduri’s family.

Even the senior party watchers say the central leadership’s strategy can come unstuck, if there is no wave in favour of the BJP. “The BJP has tried to project Khanduri as a strong leader but in the absence of a wave, the BJP’s strategy can come unstuck,” said a senior BJP leader.