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2022 assembly polls: U'khand BJP may field new faces to replace sitting MLAs
The decision is being contemplated by the BJP leadership following an internal survey by the party on the performance of its MLAs in the past four and a half years.
With several months left for the next assembly elections to be held next year, the ruling BJP in Uttarakhand has started brainstorming over the distribution of tickets to nominees. It is also expected that the party will deny tickets to some of its sitting MLAs over “poor performance”.
The decision is being contemplated by the BJP leadership following an internal survey by the party on the performance of its MLAs in the past four and a half years.
According to people privy to the development, the survey was being conducted “since the last three-four months to evaluate the performance of MLAs before the party leadership could decide on distribution of tickets.”
“Based on the preliminary results of the survey, the BJP is unlikely to give tickets again to at least 20 MLAs who have failed to perform so far. It seems the people in their constituencies are also unhappy with them. The party leadership is not willing to take any risk with them in the 2022 assembly elections,” a BJP leader said.
The development is significant considering the fact that the BJP had a thumping majority in the last assembly elections in which it won 57 out of the total 70 seats which is the best performance by any party in the Himalayan state.
“However, the party leadership is somewhat aware that it will not be a cakewalk for them in 2022 as it might not be able to win as many seats again. Hence, it is likely to give tickets to young people instead on the 20 seats where the sitting MLAs have been unable to perform,” said the leader.
BJP state unit in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam, however, refused to speak on the internal survey but said, “The 2022 elections will not be fought on any individual’s face but on the party symbol.”
“BJP while in power has done a lot of public welfare work and brought in policies for the same. The party will fight the polls on the basis of those and we are sure that the people of the state will once again support us,” said Gautam.
He also hit out at the Opposition Congress by accusing it of “looting the country”.
“Congress has always looted the country whenever it was voted to power. It is only the BJP that has been working for the comprehensive development of the country. In the previous assembly elections in 2017, Congress leader Harish Rawat who was called a big challenge, lost on both the seats where he fought. This time too, the Congress will meet a similar fate,” said Gautam.
The state Congress meanwhile, termed the BJP’s internal survey its “nervousness” ahead of polls.
“The BJP in the last four and a half years of tenure has done no work except bringing three CMs which is an insult to the people of the state which handed it a thumping majority in 2017. They are just using the state as a laboratory for their politics while having no regard for its people,” said Congress MLA and party national secretary Qazi Nizamuddin.
Nizamuddin said, “The people this time are waiting to teach the BJP a lesson for their arrogance. It has failed on every aspect including unemployment, price rise, farmers’ issues and others. It won’t matter whether they give tickets to their sitting MLAs or not because they will have a tough time in 2022.”
Political analysts too said that the 2022 elections won’t be a cakewalk at all for the BJP like in 2017.
MM Semwal political analyst and professor of political science in Garhwal Central University in Srinagar said, “The 2022 assembly elections are not going to be easy for the BJP unlike the previous one because people especially the youth are angry over the employment issue.”
