Will Jaspal campaign for his father in Dhanaulti?

DEHRADUN: It is still a mystery whether ace shooter

Jaspal Rana

will campaign for his father and BJP candidate

Narayan Singh Rana

in Dhanaulti segment, where has been caught in a fierce triangular battle.

With just 10 days left for polling and campaigning going full throttle, Jaspal seems to be nowhere in the scene for his father’s election trail. The BJP fielded Narayan Rana after denying a ticket to its sitting MLA Mahaveer Singh Rangar.

Speaking to TOI, Narayan Rana said Jaspal “is doing his bit and may pitch in later.” “I am campaigning round the clock and has full support of my son, while Jaspal is doing what he is supposed to do,” he said.

He is already facing a tough challenge from cabinet minister Pritam Singh Panwar— who has shifted from Yamunotri to Dhanaulti. Besides, the surprise entry of Mussoorie municipality chairman Manmohan Singh Mall on a Congress ticket has made the fight triangular.

Even as former Asian and Commonwealth gold medallist Jaspal had earlier said that he would campaign for the Congress instead for his father, it seems his party has snubbed him as his name did not feature in the list of 40 star campaigners for the state, raising doubts whether the high-profile marksman will make his presence felt in this polls.

Even Narayan Rana confirmed to TOI that Jaspal was not campaigning for the Congress party in the elections.

Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Mathura Dutt Joshi told TOI, “Jaspal is not part of our campaigning team. I want to make it clear that neither had he approached the party in this regard, nor did the party ask him to seek votes for its candidates.”

Notably, Jaspal had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket from the Tehri parliamentary constituency against Congress’ Vijay Bahuguna, but lost.

In 2012, he left the BJP to join the Congress after he was reportedly denied a ticket in the assembly elections.

Last year, chief minister Harish Rawat’s government made Jaspal the head of a committee to identify traditional games in the state.
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