Uttarakhand assembly elections: In Bhagwanpur, it’s dewar vs bhabhi

ROORKEE: In Haridwar’s Bhagwanpur constituency, incumbent Congress

MLA Mamta Rakesh

will again face her brother-in-law

Subodh Rakesh

. In the 2017 assembly elections, Mamta had defeated Subodh, who was then contesting on a BJP ticket, by a margin of over 2,500 votes. This time, Subodh has switched parties and is contesting on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket.

Both the candidates are vying for the legacy of Surendra Rakesh, Mamta’s husband and Subodh's brother.

Surendra was a two-time MLA from the seat and minister in the previous Congress government led by Harish Rawat. He died in 2015 following a battle with cancer.

According to poll watchers, the Bhagwanpur constituency — which has 1,22,000 registered voters, including 35,000 Dalits and 45,000 Muslims — could witness an even more close fight in the forthcoming elections than last time since Mamta is facing anti-incumbency.

Rao Imran Ahmed, a resident of Sikanderpur-Bhainswal village, said, “A lot of people from my community, who have traditionally voted for the Congress candidate, may gravitate towards the BSP nominee.”

Poll watchers say that it may be premature to discount Mamta’s chances since she enjoys support from both Hindu and Muslim voters in Bhagwanpur. The 52-year-old former government school teacher has held the seat since 2015 when she won the bypoll that was necessitated after her husband’s death.

Later, in 2017, she won the seat by securing 44,882 (48.18%) votes.

Apart from her brother-in-law, Mamta will be up against BJP’s Master Satyapal, who fought on a Congress ticket in 2012. Back then, he was defeated by Surendra Rakesh, who was contesting on a BSP ticket. After his victory, Surendra had joined Congress and was made a minister.

Anil Tyagi, a political analyst, told TOI, “While the BJP has a loyal vote bank here, the party is likely to finish third in the race as people have already picked sides between Mamta and Subodh.”


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