While frequently changing CMs are providing an opportunity to the opposition for questioning the political instability in the state, the BJP government seems more fit to govern Uttarakhand than any otherg party ever will. There are many factors to prove the BJP’s strong hold on the will of the people in Uttarakhand.
The Congress on 3rd July attacked the Uttarakhand led BJP government for constantly changing CMs and neglecting issues of development, unemployment, inflation and corruption. AICC secretary Devender Yadav claimed that Congress would resolve the issues if voted to power.
The Congress has warned of a situation of “constitutional crisis” in the hill state as Tirath Singh Rawat, who was sworn in as the Chief Minister in March, is still not a member of the legislative assembly. The Constitution requires leaders who are not members of the legislature to secure legislative membership within six months of being sworn in to hold the position or they will lose the position. As a result, Rawat had to resign and Pushkar Singh Dhami was handed the reins.
Yadav, during a protest organised by the Congress against fuel price hike, said, “Today’s protest is against the useless BJP government which been ruling Uttarakhand for four years. The BJP government in the state has only changed chief ministers which have led to a rise in unemployment, corruption, scams, and inflation. To eradicate and throw away this government, all the Congress workers from across the state have gathered here to participate in this massive protest.”
There appears to be a constitutional crisis brewing in the state of Uttarakhand because of constantly changing CMs and as per the Opposition, leadership needs to be changed once again. But facts state otherwise as BJP still seems to have a stronger hold on Uttarakhand politics than any other alternatives available.
Congress leader Virbhadra Singh’s poor health had always kept Singh away from active politics but his death is a setback for the party. Also, former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat, who was earlier in charge of the Assam unit, stirs up the pot in Punjab congress in September 2020 which leaves no options of a strong second line of Congress leaders in the state.
Aam Admi Party has had a disastrous impact on the people of Uttarakhand because of the Derogatory comment made by their spokesperson Uma Sisodiya, while speaking with a news channel she compared the people of Uttarakhand with “dogs”, which was highly condemnable and it really upset the people of Uttarakhand. Moreover, Kejriwal’s promise of free power up to 300 units to each household in the state, seems of no use as AAP’s freebie politics won’t work in the hill state as they can generate their own electricity, apart from its large and medium hydropower potential, which is estimated to be 20,000 megawatts, it also has huge potential for small, mini- and micro-hydropower generation. This proves how APP has no knowledge about the local issues in the hills. Moreover, the irony here is the state president of AAP, Deepak Bali himself said that Uttarakhand is called a Power surplus state.
The people of Uttarakhand are religious and patriotic people with a large representation in the armed forces but AAP’s image on the contrary is that of an Anti-national party because of their support towards pro-Khalistanis, pro-CAA, opposing Ram Mandir, Muslim Appeasement policies and the list goes on. Back in 2020, during the Anti-CAA protest supported by the AAP, The Delhi police apprehended an accused named Shahnawaz involved in the gruesome murder of 20-year-old Dilbar Singh Negi. Negi was burnt alive by the Muslim mob after his limbs being cut off with a sword. The rioters, after cutting his hands and feet, threw the rest of his body into the burning fire. This further angered the people of Uttarakhand against the Delhi government.
Delhi Police: Crime Branch has arrested an accused Shahnawaz, in the murder/riot case of Gokulpuri which was registered after the body of one Dilbar Negi was found in mutilated condition in Anil Sweet House, Brijpuri on 26th February. #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/p07SjSUpZS
— ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2020
I watched documentary titled 'Delhi Riots — A tale of Burn & Blame' on Voot.
And, I am not able to overcome the heart-rending wails of Dilber Negi's mother.
Rioters had first chopped off Dilbar Negi's limbs (arms & legs) with a sword and set him ablaze & burnt him alive. pic.twitter.com/BuopfghPFp
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) March 10, 2021
Furthermore, the brazen population rise of one particular community in Uttarakhand has manifested in many forms. Many areas in India are witnessing major religious demographic changes and Uttarakhand is one of them. This comes as a big concern to the people of Uttarakhand who are very religious, and this further contributes to their reason for not choosing AAP as the CM in their state owing to the party’s minority appeasement politics.
The BJP, on the other hand, is dedicated to development. Yogi Adityanath’s election campaign can largely benefit the BJP in the state as the former hails from Uttrakhand himself and has a very strong image. Yet, despite the strong factors backing up BJP, the situation is yet skeptical and dicey for in the state based on subsequent changes in the CM post, which also displays that the party is well aware of the recent challenges imposed on them, one of these being AAP’s possible CM candidate Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, a retired army man. Also, regional parties like UKD can get the benefit if BJP’s vote gets further divided.
After the Uttarakhand CM’s recent meet with PM Modi, he took to Twitter to post pictures of the meeting and wrote, “The Prime Minister assured all possible help for the development of the state.”
A constitutional crisis may lead to a change of guard in the state, but he assures the people it has had no direct impact on how development works. The nation and its prosperity is the priority of the Bharatiya Janata Party and they can easily go on to surpass Congress and AAP in the upcoming elections. CM Dhami believes under the guidance of PM Modi, Uttarakhand is moving ahead on the path of development at a very fast pace.
