Kedarnath bypoll: After biting dust in Ayodhya, Badrinath, BJP locks horns with Congress in crucial battle

BJP and Congress battle for Kedarnath bypolls with focus on development, Hindutva, and legacy of late MLA Shaila Rawat.

After its recent embarrassing defeats in Ayodhya’s Faizabad Parliamentary constituency and in the Assembly bypoll at the temple town of Badrinath, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is going all out to prevent another jolt at Hindutva bastion Kedarnath, the abode of Hindu God Shiva located 11,755 ft above sea, and one of the favourite pilgrimage sites of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The bypoll in Kedarnath, one of the Jyotirlings and most-visited Hindu shrines as part of Uttarakhand’s Char Dham Yatra, was necessitated after the demise of BJP MLA Shaila Rawat in July this year. The polling will take place in Kedarnath on November 20, 2024.

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The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Asha Nautiyal, a former MLA from Kedarnath, who held the seat between 2002 and 2007, against Congress’ Manoj Rawat who is a former journalist and became an MLA from from Kedarnath in 2017. Ms. Nautiyal’s victory margin in both elections was more than 3,000 votes and Mr. Rawat bagged this seat with a margin of 869 votes.

In the five Assembly elections held in Uttarakhand, which was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000, the BJP managed to win Kedarnath thrice while the seat went to Congress twice. The constituency has 45,775 female voters and 44,765 male voters, and the dominance of women is also visible among the elected members as female MLAs won four out of five times in this constituency.

The saffron party is contesting the Kedarnath bypolls using the tried-and-tested duopoly of “development and Hindutva,” targeting the Congress as “anti-Hindu” party which if will come to power will ‘change the demography’ of the place where majority population is upper caste Hindus.

Barely days before the announcement of bypolls, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced developmental projects worth ₹48 crore, in Kedarnath alone. He also asked the voters to consider him as their MLA until the new one is elected. From participating in bike rallies to religious rituals, Mr. Dhami is making frequent visits to the constituency.