Sunday, 13 AUGUST 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Uttarakhand Congress is expected to admit Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Basant Kumar in the party’s fold soon. Kumar who bagged more than 21 per cent of total votes in the assembly election of 2022 is likely to be inducted into the Congress party in the presence of senior leaders in Bageshwar on Sunday or Monday. In all probability Kumar will be the Congress party candidate from the Bageshwar assembly by election which will be held on September 5.
The deliberation between Basant Kumar and leadership of the Congress was going on for some time. On Saturday Ranjit Das, the candidate of the Congress party from Bageshwar assembly in the elections of 2022 defected to BJP. He was inducted in the party in presence of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and president of State BJP Mahendra Bhatt. His defection to the BJP has paved the way for the entry of Basant Kumar in the Congress party. It is learnt that Kumar will join the Congress party on Sunday in Bageshwar. Reacting to the defection of Ranjit Dass, the PCC president Karan Mahara said that the Congress party made him candidate for the Nagar Palika chairman and gave Vidhan Sabha ticket from Bageshwar in 2022. His defection has angered the workers of Congress party and they are now determined to teach BJP a lesson in the by -election. Mahara claimed that the Congress is in a strong position in Bageshwar and the result of the by-election will be in its favour.
Though Mahara is claiming to secure victory in Bageshwar by election, history is against him. In Uttarakhand, elections have been held in 14 seats so far and the ruling party has won 13 times. The BJP is expected to field the son of late Chandan Ram Dass to garner sympathy votes. In the assembly election held in the year 2022, Chandan Ram Dasss of BJP won from the Bageshwar reserved assembly seat by defeating his nearest rival Ranjeet Das of Congress party by a margin of 12,141 votes. The BJP candidate secured 32,211 votes against 20,070 received by the Congress candidate.
The voting for the by-election will be held on September 5 and the counting of votes will be done on September 8 and the result will be declared on the same day.
