Chandigarh MC polls: With 2-lakh strong voter base, natives of HP, UP, Uttarakhand on parties’ radar

With around two lakh votes at stake, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress are leaving no stone unturned to woo the natives of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh (particularly Purvanchal) residing in the city.

City’s peripheral areas, including the rehabilitation colonies and villages, have a large population of people from these states. In more than 12 wards, voters of HP, UP and Uttarakhand-origin are the central focus of the parties’ campaign. In these wards, the parties have given tickets to natives of these states.

The star campaigners’ list of both parties features the who’s who from these states.

The BJP has roped in UP chief minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur. The party is counting on Union minister Anurag Thakur to woo voters from Himachal.

Union minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt, who is also a former state president in Uttarakhand, is being roped in to campaign among the Uttarakhand-origin residents of the city.

With an eye on natives of UP, Bhojpuri actor-turned-politician, Delhi MP Manoj Tewari and Bhojpuri singer Dinesh Lal Yadav (Nirahua) will be campaigning for the BJP in the city.

For the Congress, Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat, Himachal Pradesh MP Pratibha Singh and Kanhiya Kumar are among the star campaigners roped in, with the voters of these states in mind.

Notably, both BJP and Congress have placed senior leaders from Himachal in key campaign positions. While BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Indu Bala Goswami has been made the election co-in-charge, in Congress, the party’s Sujanpur MLA Rajinder Rana is the election coordinator.

In addition to allotting tickets, the parties are also organising cultural and social events keeping in mind people from these states.

HP Congress MLAs, senior functionaries for MC polls

Rana, said, “We are bringing in 35 senior functionaries from HP who will make the city their base and campaign, with a particular focus on HP residents living in the city. Rana, who himself has a residence in Chandigarh, is also campaigning across the city and had recently organised cultural-social events with HP natives living in the city.

For other state natives too, the Congress is aiming to bring volunteers and leaders from these states. “I have asked all the candidates to submit the names of leaders from any other state. We will also put in service volunteers from these states,” said Rana.