U’khand polls: BJP shows confidence, unsure of numbers

DEHRADUN: Even as the opposition BJP claims it would return to power with a massive majority in the recently concluded assembly election, the party’s internal reports give quite the opposite impression.

“Information reaching us from all corners suggests that our electoral show will fall far short of our leaders’ high expectations,” a state BJP office bearer said. “The poll result, which will be announced soon, will be a dampener for them as our rebel candidates sabotaged the election of our official candidates in most of the total 70 assembly constituencies,” he added.

For the BJP, reports coming in from the areas where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed public meetings are also not encouraging. The party’s star campaigner addressed four rallies — in Haridwar, Rudrapur, Srinagar and Pithoragarh — just days before the polling day (February 15), prompting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to claim his visit had intensified the ‘statewide wave’ in its favour.

“There was an initial euphoria that the rallies would not only intensify the Modi wave in those four places but in most of the constituencies in the hills and plains,” a senior party leader said. “(But) reports now suggest that the Modi magic failed to work even in the areas where he addressed rallies,” he claimed.

The BJP had a tough time containing rebellion in the party that triggered after the high command gave ticket to the new entrants, ignoring its veterans. Party insiders said its rebels and their supporters sabotaged the election of the official candidates thus cutting into the BJP’s vote bank.

In Garhwal, more than a dozen rebel candidates of the BJP fought the election against its official candidates, according to a source in the opposition party.

State BJP spokesperson Virendra Singh Bisht, however, denied the reports suggesting that rebels have ruined the party’s chances in the hill state. “Initially, those who failed to get ticket as well as their supporters were disappointed. But ours is a disciplined party and those who were earlier upset joined the party’s campaign with gusto.”