Will Vikasnagar maintain belief like Gangotri?

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

Strange but true, Vikasnagar assembly constituency, which is playing decisive factor since first assembly election-2002 but people are yet to pay attention on it. Although there is strong belief that the Gangotri constituency’s outcome decides the  party forming the government. Vikasnagar is interesting, for it has been witnessing a straight contest between two contenders, Navprabhat of Congress   and Munna Singh Chouhan of BJP since the maiden Assembly election of Uttarakhand held  in 2002  and  on the lines of Gangotri, its outcome is determining  which one   of the two sworn rivals would form the government.

The duo plays critical roles when their respective parties need fire-fighting while being embroiled in grim crisis. They prove to be the accomplished trouble shooters during the critical times.  When the grim political crisis engulfed the Harish Rawat government after nine MLAs raised the banner of revolt against the CM in conjunction with BJP, the embattled CM reposed immense faith in the ability of Navprabhat to help the party tide over the crisis. It was not for nothing that the pleased CM inducted him in his cabinet during the cabinet expansion a few months before the election while giving him the important   transport portfolio along with some others.

Going by the records, Navprabhat was elected from the constituency for the first elected Assembly of the mountain state in 2002. The state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. The Congress government helmed by the veteran ND Tiwari ruled the state for the full five –year term till 2007. Thereafter in 2007, Munna Singh Chouhan wrested the seat.   BJP-helmed   government that was formed post the election continued till 2012, albeit the change of the faces of the chief ministers.

A by-poll ensued for the Vikasnagar seat after Chouhan resigned from the seat to contest Lok Sabha election 2009 on BSP ticket. He lost the race to the Congress as the latter swept the state, winning all the five seats  up for grabs. However, BJP retained the seat during the subsequent by-poll, though another BJP leader contested.

In the third Assembly election-2012, the two local titans faced each other gain. However, the tide of fortunes swung in favour of Congress and its candidate Navprabhat that time.  Subsequently, Congress formed the government and it completed its term despite the fact that Vijay Bahuguna was made to pave way for Harish Rawat as the chief minister in the middle of the term.

This time too, both the parties chose to repose faith in the weather-beaten old horses for the seat.   Now, the question is-who between the arch rivals would have the last laugh and whether the trend of win or loss of the apparently ‘jinxed’ seat would again determine which of the two parties would assume the rein of the government, post March 11.