The Congress has secured control of the zilla panchayat in Uttarakhand capital Dehradun, wresting the rural body from the ruling BJP.
The Congress claimed that the party could have won all 12 seats if the polling had been fair. Sukhvindar Kaur and Abhishek Singh won the posts of Dehradun zilla panchayat president and vice-president, respectively. Abhishek is the son of Pritam Singh, a senior Congress leader. Sukhvindar and Abhishek defeated the BJP’s Madhu Chauhan and Veer Singh Chauhan. Madhu is the wife of BJP MLA Munna Singh Chauhan.
Over 40 per cent block pramukhs of the Congress have also won. Only 20 per cent of block members were from the Congress five years ago. The polling was held from 10am to 3pm on Thursday, and the counting started immediately.
Maan Singh Rautela of the Congress defeated the BJP’s Hukum Singh to take the position of vice-president of the zilla panchayat in Tehri. The BJP’s Ishita Sajwan was elected president unopposed.
The BJP’s Daulat Singh and Laxman Singh won the zilla panchayat president and vice-president seats in Chamoli district. Hema Gainda of the BJP won the post of president of the Almora zilla panchayat. The BJP’s Punam Kathait was elected president in Rudraprayag.
The results of the Nainital zilla panchayat polls were expected in the night because polling was disrupted there following violence at several places and the alleged kidnapping of voters. One person suffered bullet injuries in Betalghat an hour after the polling started, when an unidentified person opened fire outside the block office. The election there concluded two hours after the scheduled time.
The elections for 10,915 members to 12 zilla panchayats and 89 kshetra panchayats were held on July 24 and July 28, and the results were declared on July 31.
Yashpal Arya, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said: “The BJP members kidnapped our five elected zilla panchayat members from Mall Road. Later, they opened fire near the Betalghat block when some of our members were going there to cast their votes. One of our members suffered injuries.”
The Congress quickly moved Nainital High Court while the polling was in progress. They claimed that some of their elected zilla panchayat members in Nainital district were missing. The high court bench asked district magistrate Vandana and senior superintendent of police P. Meena of Nainital to ensure peaceful polling.