Congress emphasizes anti-incumbency, BJP emphasizes development in Tehri Garhwal

As the Uttarakhand Lok Sabha elections draw to a close, a fierce electoral contest for the Tehri Garhwal parliamentary seat is taking place throughout the political terrain, from the foothills of the Himalayas to the Terai plains, maybe for the first time in a number of years. Elections are scheduled for April 19 in the constituency, which encompasses Tehri Garhwal, Uttarkashi, and a portion of Dehradun.

There are eleven candidates running for this seat, but the primary race is between the Congress and the BJP, longtime adversaries. The Himalayan heartland is engulfed in political frenzy when Congressman Jot Singh Gunsola challenges Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah, the current MP, and the nominal queen of the former Tehri Garhwal empire.

The BJP has overwhelmingly beaten Pritam Singh of the Congress and Saket Bahuguna of the Congress to win this seat twice in as many years, with a margin of victory that grew to over three lakh in 2019 from 1.92 lakh in 2014. She had even narrowly beaten Saket Bahuguna by 22,000 votes in the 2012 by-election. This seat was won by the Congress in the general election of 2009 and the by-election in 2007.

Entertainingly, independent contender Babbi Panwar, supported by the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, tries to carve out a place in the vote banks of both the Congress and the BJP. The Uttarakhand Unemployed Association supports Panwar.

Even as UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and party national president JP Nadda galvanized support for Mala, the BJP waged a vigorous campaign. The prime minister, too, spoke at a rally in the adjacent town of Rishikesh.

The BJP won 11 of the 14 Assembly seats under the Tehri-Gharwal parliamentary constituency in the 2022 Assembly elections, while the Congress could only win two. An independent candidate won the Yamunotri seat and subsequently backed the BJP administration. However, in a blow to the Congress, five MPs from the hill state were not present in the Lok Sabha. These were the party’s main star campaigners.

When local and national problems collide, voter feelings stay hidden until the election’s conclusion.

The BJP is capitalizing on the progress made in the area, particularly with the Char Dham Yatra project, but its main problems include unemployment, young migration in search of work, the Agniveer program, and recruitment frauds involving BJP leaders. Congress is relying heavily on anti-incumbency.

Tehri’s demographic profile indicates a change in the political landscape, with a large number of erstwhile Congress supporters joining the BJP. The changing nature of the seat presents obstacles for the Congress, which are offset by the BJP’s calculated grassroots mobilization.

According to the sociological makeup of this seat, the population is made up of around 49% Rajputs, 24% Brahmins, and 5% Vaishyas; the remaining 18% are SCs and 6% STs; and the remaining 4% are Muslims.

15.77 lakh people vote in this seat, with 7.61 lakh of them being women.