Twenty years ago, when the state of Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, the people were looking for a chance to forge their own destiny independent of the huge state. It was a cry for development, for their own place under the sun. The people wanted a chance to govern themselves according to the needs of the hill state.
But two decades later, the state has little to show in terms of development. People are still migrating in search of jobs and they still have to fend for themselves in the difficult terrain. In many parts, people still have to trudge 15-20 km from the nearest road to reach their homes.
Uttarakhand, which had until now alternately voted for the BJP or the Congress in subsequent elections, chose the incumbent government in the 2022 assembly elections in spite of the change of leadership twice. BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Pushkar Singh Dhami, however, in spite of his youthful image, failed to buck the trend of incumbent CMs losing their seats.
With Dhami having lost the Khatima seat by more than 6,000 seats, the party will have to search for a fresh face for the CM’s post. Perhaps, the parties need to draw a lesson from the defeat: the voter will not be taken for granted. The voter will not take kindly to a frequent change in leadership.
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What Worked For BJP
It was widely believed the Congress would make a comeback in the state but the party failed to convert the sentiment. Uttarakhand recorded a 65 per cent voter turnout. A close look at the results shows the BJP actually lost nine seats compared to its 2017 tally of 57, while the Congress improved its share by seven seats.
Former chief minister and veteran Congress leader Harish Rawat lost from Lal Kuan, in an indication that the party’s decision to change his preferred seat did not work. Rawat lost both the seats he contested — Haridwar (Rural) and Kichcha — in the last elections too.
Infighting remains a problem with the grand old party.
The freebie politics of the AAP was rejected by the voters too. The party that won Punjab with an impressive majority failed to open its account in the hill state.
The people seem to have taken up the BJP on its promises of big-ticket development projects. But does the hill state really require those?
Climate change is a real and big challenge. We cannot have big bang development projects set in the midst of the fragile ecosystem. The state has already borne the brunt of many environmental disasters.
What the state needs is a carefully thought-out policy that respects the environment while delivering development to the people. But before that, people need jobs, basic infrastructure, and a stable polity.
(The author is a New Delhi-based freelance journalist. She is a keen observer of politics in her home state having covered politics in the past.)
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