lok-sabha-elections

Updated: May 24, 2019 08:42 IST

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has managed to retain all the five Lok Sabha seats that it had won in the 2014 polls in Uttarakhand.

For the Congress, it is the second electoral drubbing in two years, after it lost the 2017 assembly election to the BJP. “Besides its impending debacle in the (Lok Sabha) polls, its biggest embarrassment is the way its [Congress’s] tallest leader in the state, Harish Rawat, lost,” said professor MM Semwal of HNB Garhwal (Central) University.

Former chief minister Rawat was pitted against state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt from Nainital. In the 2017 state elections, Rawat lost both the assembly seats - Kichha and Haridwar (Rural) he contested from. Other BJP winners were Ajay Tamta from Almora, Tirath Singh Rawat from Garwhal, Ramesh Pokhriyal from Haridwar and Maha Raja Laxmi Shah from Tehri Garwhal.

State BJP president Ajay Bhatt claimed that the ruling party won all the five seats owing to the policies pursued by PM Modi. “The entire credit for that goes to the pro-poor policies and development agenda Modiji pursued.”

Congress spokesperson MD Joshi alleged that Modi failed to address crucial issues like unemployment and farmer distress. “Yet, the people got carried away by his jumle baji [false promises],” he said.