Inconsistent with the line of their parties which are trying hard to field heavyweights in the high-stake electoral battle, many prominent leaders of both Congress and BJP have publically stated their reluctance to contest the election.
In the battle field of Uttarakhand where five Lok Sabha constituencies are at stake, both BJP and Congress, the principal political players of the state, appear to be playing a studied wait and watch game on releasing the list of their candidates for the election.
Till Monday evening, both the parties kept the release of the lists on hold.
Things look a bit murky as some senior leaders of Congress and BJP have clearly stated that they are not interested to contest the election. BJP stalwarts- Major General B C Khanduri (Rtd) and Bhagat Singh Koshyari- both sitting MPs from Garhwal and Nainital- Udham Singh Nagar seats respectively, have consistently maintained their reluctance to face the electoral battle.
However, their stance notwithstanding, the state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt had recently averred that the party had sent their names as the first choice candidates in the panel sent to the central leadership.
The buzz going around in the BJP circles is that considering his advanced age and deteriorating health, the party would not field Khanduri. But things are different for Koshyari. The latter is sure to be re-nominated from Nainital- Udham Singh Nagar constituency, as per the party insiders.
In Congress too, the former chief minister and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Harish Rawat who is supposed to be in the race for the party ticket for both Haridwar and Nainital- Udham Singh Nagar constituencies said that he is not too keen to contest. Similarly, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Pritam Singh shocked everyone when on Sunday he emphatically stated that he is not in the contest.
The state screening committee of which Pritam was also a member has put his name in the panel of the candidates for Tehri Lok Sabha seat.
The leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Uttarakhand Assembly Indira Hridayesh too has expressed her unwillingness to contest Lok Sabha election.
Given the mood of the heavyweights to stay away from the contest, the political pundits are of the view that apart from Khanduri, other senior leaders who have publically shown reluctance to contest are playing a tactical game with their respective parties and their followers.
“ By showing that they are not keen, they are sending barely concealed messages that they are willing to leave the stage in favour of the younger leaders. In most of the cases, the young leaders they are pitching for are their protégés,” says a long-time political analyst.
