Kedarnath By-Election: Congress high command has appointed two observers for the by-election to be held on the vacant Kedarnath assembly seat in the state. Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Bhuvan Kapri and MLA from Jwalapur seat of Haridwar Virendra Jati will take up the responsibility of observer. A proposal in this regard was sent to the party high command by State Congress President Karan Mahara. The party has appointed both observers from Uttarakhand. Like Badrinath assembly seat, on the nearby Kedarnath seat, the party has adopted the formula of trusting more on local leaders instead of sending big leaders from outside the state.
Strong public support in Garhwal region
Congress has a strong public support in the mountainous areas, especially in the Garhwal region, but the circumstances changed rapidly after the year 2014. BJP made a dent in the public support of Congress and has also been successful in making a strong fortification. In the 2022 assembly elections, the Congress had to be content with only three assembly seats in the Garhwal region. In the Lok Sabha elections this year, the Congress did not get even one of the five seats in the state. But, Congress did not allow Rajendra Singh Bhandari, Congress MLA from Badrinath assembly seat, who joined the BJP during the Lok Sabha elections, to win the by-election.
Differences emerged between the state organization and top leaders
The way the party won the by-election held on the Badrinath assembly seat after the Lok Sabha elections by defeating the ruling party, it has encouraged the party to further strengthen its support base in the mountainous region. Congress is also working with the same enthusiasm for the Kedarnath by-election. It is a different matter that differences have emerged between the state organization and top leaders regarding who should be made the party candidate on this seat. However, a joint strategy was also decided in the meeting of the State Congress Coordination Committee formed to resolve differences and work in mutual harmony.
State Congress President Karan Mahara had sent a proposal regarding appointing an observer for the selection of the party candidate in the Kedarnath assembly constituency. Congress state in-charge Kumari Selja informed about the high command’s approval on this proposal and announced the names of both the observers.
