Uttarakhand polls: Without Indira Hridayesh, will Congress be able to retain its bastion?

NAINITAL: Congress has held the Haldwani assembly seat since 2007 but retaining the constituency won't be a cakewalk for the party this time. The party has fielded Sumit Hridayesh, son of senior Congress leader Indira Hridayesh who died last year, from the seat. While analysts believe that Sumit will secure sympathy votes, they add that some supporters of Indira may vote for other candidates in the fray.

Congress' Sumit will face BJP's Jogendra Pal Singh Rautela, who is a two-time Haldwani mayor and has a considerable support base. On the other hand, Rautela is banking on anti-incumbency against Congress to swing votes.

Besides, Samajwadi Party's candidate Shoaib Ahmed and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen's Abdul Matin Siddiqui are expected to cut into Congress' traditional Muslim votes. The Banbhulpura area in the constituency has a predominant Muslim population and their voting preference will have a significant impact on the election result.

According to Election Commission data, the Haldwani constituency has 1,51,222 voters -- 79,114 men and 72,048 women.

Meanwhile, the BJP is also trying to pacify those local leaders in the constituency who were lobbying for a ticket. Dissatisfaction among these local leaders and their supporters may harm the prospects of the saffron party in the Haldwani election.