With the Congress fighting the perception that its influence is narrowing and is limited to southern India, the party’s leadership in Uttarakhand is now clamouring for general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to contest from the Haridwar Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming general election.
The District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents held a meeting in the second week of December, in the context of party’s defeat in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. There was a near unanimous demand that Ms. Vadra should contest from the Haridwar constituency. The State unit’s demand has been relayed to the party leadership in Delhi.
“This was a suggestion made by many leaders and has been conveyed to the high command. We can put up a good fight in Haridwar and if Priyanka ji agrees, then this is a seat that we can easily win,” Karan Mahara, the party’s Uttarakhand State president told The Hindu.
Return to the Hindi heartland
There is a growing sentiment within the party that, to pose a credible challenge to the BJP, the senior leadership has to contest from the Hindi heartland. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s southward shift, contesting from Wayanad, may have helped the party sweep Kerala seats, but proved detrimental in northern India, many in the party believe. There is a similar demand that he should not return to Wayanad for the 2024 election.
The Haridwar Lok Sabha constituency came into existence following delimitation in 1977, and was a reserved seat till 2009. The BJP has won all the five seats in the State in the last two general elections. However, the Congress leadership is now more hopeful about Haridwar than any other seat in Uttarakhand, for multiple reasons.
Key pilgrimage centre
“We had the strongest performance here in the last general elections and the seat has significant minority and Dalit population who form our core vote bank here. In Assembly elections, out of the 14 segments under this Lok Sabha constituency, we won five. Clearly, we have the wherewithal to put up a strong contest and if Priyanka ji contests from here, surely we can convert all these strengths into a victory,” a senior State leader said. The party also hopes that fighting from a constituency that includes a holy city for Hindus will also send a wider signal.
Ahead of the 2019 election, there was widespread speculation about Ms. Vadra making her electoral debut, but she did not take the plunge. The Uttarakhand leadership is hoping that 2024 will be different.
