In a by-election poised to affect Uttarakhand’s political panorama for years to come back, BJP candidate Asha Nautiyal triumphed within the Kedarnath Meeting seat, securing 23,130 votes and defeating Congress’s Manoj Rawat by a margin of 5,099 votes. The victory reinforces the BJP’s maintain within the state, significantly in a politically and culturally important constituency.
Impartial candidate Tribhuvan Singh, who briefly emerged as a contender in the course of the preliminary rounds of counting, garnered 9,266 votes, ending a distant third. The result not solely solidifies the BJP’s dominance but additionally underscores its skill to retain voter confidence in Kedarnath, a seat rendered vacant by the passing of BJP MLA Shaila Rani Rawat.
The result’s a much-needed increase for the get together, which has been grappling with challenges in current months regardless of its dominance within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress’s current victories within the Manglaur and Badrinath by-polls had shifted political momentum within the state, elevating questions concerning the BJP’s invincibility. The loss in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya Lok Sabha seat had additional fueled hypothesis concerning the BJP’s maintain over its core voters. In opposition to this backdrop, retaining the Kedarnath seat was essential for the get together to reaffirm its power in Uttarakhand’s hill areas.
Kedarnath, house to the revered Kedarnath temple, is not only a constituency however an emblem of Uttarakhand’s cultural and non secular id. At a time when many political pundits speculated that the native voters are sad with the ruling BJP as a consequence of its alleged mismanagement of the Chardham yatra, BJP’s win right here underscores its skill to retain voter belief in a area steeped in spirituality and marked by a powerful connection to the Chardham pilgrimage circuit.
For Congress, the defeat represents a setback in its efforts to consolidate beneficial properties made in current by-elections and place itself as a reputable challenger to the BJP.
The contests that formed Kedarnath
The political historical past of the Kedarnath seat has been as dynamic because the state’s terrain. Nautiyal’s victory marks a return to prominence for a frontrunner who has lengthy been related to the BJP’s fortunes within the area. Nautiyal had beforehand received the seat in 2002 and 2007, establishing herself as a key determine within the get together’s hill technique. Nevertheless, the political panorama shifted dramatically in 2012, when Shaila Rani Rawat, then with Congress, defeated Nautiyal by over 2,000 votes.
The seat took one other flip in 2016 when Shaila Rani Rawat, together with eight different Congress MLAs, defected to the BJP, contributing to the collapse of then chief minister Harish Rawat’s authorities and resulting in the imposition of President’s Rule within the state. By the 2017 elections, the BJP fielded Shaila Rani Rawat, sidelining Nautiyal, who contested as an Impartial. This inside division value the BJP dearly, as Congress’s Manoj Rawat claimed victory in a carefully fought contest, whereas impartial candidates, together with Nautiyal, pushed Shaila Rani Rawat to fourth place.
Shaila Rani Rawat made a comeback within the 2022 elections, reclaiming the seat for the BJP by defeating Impartial candidate Kuldeep Singh Rawat with a margin of over 8,000 votes. Manoj Rawat, representing Congress, completed third, underlining the fragmented nature of Kedarnath’s political dynamics, the place independents have persistently performed a disruptive position.
This 12 months’s by-election, triggered by Shaila Rani Rawat’s dying, introduced the main target again to Nautiyal, whose grassroots enchantment and expertise resonated with voters. Her victory additionally displays the BJP’s skill to handle inside rifts and consolidate assist in a constituency that has typically witnessed intense rivalries and shifting allegiances.
The end result has important implications for each events. For the BJP, it’s a reaffirmation of its dominance in a key constituency at a time when questions have been being raised about its skill to maintain its successful streak in Uttarakhand. For Congress, the loss in Kedarnath, regardless of its current beneficial properties, underscores the challenges it faces in countering the BJP’s narrative and overcoming the affect of impartial candidates, who proceed to fragment the opposition vote.
