Daughter on duty: Beti nursed seat, CM Harish Rawat banks on her spadework

HARIDWAR: Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat has decided to contest elections from two seats -Haridwar (Rural) and Kichha in Udham Singh Nagar. While the choice of Kichha is dominated by Rawat's intention to bolster the Congress party's rank and file in the district which is facing a leadership vacuum after the exit of senior leaders Vijay Bahuguna and Yashpal Arya, who have joined BJP, Haridwar (rural) is believed to have been chosen by Rawat since his daughter Anupama has been working here for the past one and a half years. According to Congress leaders in the district, Anupama, who is in her 30s and got married two years ago, has been active in the constituency from where she was hoping to be fielded this time.

The Congress's decision to stick to the 'one family, one ticket formula' may have denied her a ticket but CM Rawat, by fielding himself from the seat, seems to have ensured that his daughter's effort works to his advantage.

"Anupamaji has been consistently making visits to the area. She has held regular meetings, especially with Van Gujjars and members of the Boksha tribe," said Ajai Kaushik, a local Congress leader.

The constituency has almost 1.2 lakh voters, of which about 40% comprise tribes like the Van Gujjars and Bokshas as well as Muslims, who will play a decisive role in the upcoming elections.

Anupama's attempts to reach out to them -she has also reportedly gone to Muslim localities and attended functions hosted by the community -is expected to work in favour of chief minister Rawat not just in this constituency but also in nearby seats like Laksar where the Congress has fielded a Muslim candidate, Taslim Ahmed.