BJP gets a drubbing in local body polls in Uttarakhand

In the elections for Zila Panchayat president held on August 5, the BJP candidates won in two seats while those backed by the Congress won in 10

After riding high on the ‘Modi wave’ during the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the State seems to have hit rock-bottom after losing in 10 of the 12 Zilla Panchayat president seats.

In the elections for Zilla Panchayat president, held on August 5, the BJP candidates won in two seats — Chamoli and Tehri — while those backed by the Congress won in 10 seats. The elections were held in all districts barring Haridwar.

Since the Lok Sabha elections — when the BJP won all five Lok Sabha seats by convincing margins — it has lost all elections in the State including the recent bypolls in three Assembly seats.

A highly placed source in the BJP said, “The biggest flaw is mismanagement within the party,” and added, “this existed during the Lok Sabha elections too, but, the ‘Modi wave’ made everything inconspicuous.”

State BJP president Tirath Singh Rawat dismissed any management errors in the party. “The Congress exploited the State machinery to win all seats,” he said.

V.K. Painuly, a political analyst from the State said, “The BJP would take at least three to four years to revive itself in the State.”