News Analysis India

Tag: Udham Singh Nagar

  • U’khand: 20 seats of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts hold defy norms in 2022 elections

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: Indian National Congress performed better than the Bhartiya Janta Party in two districts of Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar which have a total of 20 state assembly seats in the 70-member state assembly. 

    US Nagar has nine seats while Haridwar has 11 seats.

    The BJP which won 16 out of 20 seats in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts in the 2017 elections managed to win just seven seats in 2022 elections, while three went to ‘Others’ including independent and the Bahujan Samaj Party. 

    Anoop Nautiyal, Dehradun based think tank and an analyst said, “These two districts which earlier said to hold key to the power failed to make much difference with the BJP performing better in other regions. These elections have sprung up many surprises like the Chief Minister lost his seat from Khatima in IS Nagar district.”

    Analysis of three regions – Regions A, B, C reveals voter behaviour which gives insight into what went down in the 2022 assembly elections in the state.

    In Region A of the Garhwal division which has five hill districts and one plain district Dehradun with a total of 30 seats, the BJP won 26 while the Congress got only three seats. 

    In Region B which has five hill districts of the Kumaon division with a total of 20 seats, the BJP got 14 seats while the Congress had six. 

    The Congress this time had popped up its ‘Trump Card’ with Yashpal Arya rejoining the party with his son Sanjiv Arya last year. Arya, who has a strong vote base in the district, especially among SC and Muslim voters contested 2022 elections from the Bajpur constituency of the US Nagar district. 

    Both Haridwar and US Nagar districts have around 50 per cent population of Scheduled Caste and Muslims of total voters. 

    Factors that influenced voters in Udham Singh Nagar which has a sizable population of Sikhs, this time in 2022 were farmer’s protests regarding controversial farm laws in which farmers of the district played a significant role, anti-incumbency and the effect of what happens in the neighbouring districts Western UP – Bareilly, Rampur, Bijnor, Pilibhit, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Farrukhabad and few others. 

    In totality, the BJP had a strike rate of 67 per cent bagging 47 of the 70 seats in Uttarakhand with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading from the front. The Congress barely managed a 27 per cent strike-rate with its 19 seats across the state. 

  • Enter at your own risk: Uttarakhand village bans entry for members, leaders of ‘anti-farmer’ BJP 

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: As farmers agitation continues against the newly framed farm laws, a village in Uttarakhand has banned the entry of Bhartiya Janta Party members, workers and leaders. 

    Posters, banners and hoardings have come up in Malpuri village of Udham Singh Nagar district warning the ‘Anti-Farmer’ BJP workers and leaders.  The banners further warn that if they venture into the village, none will be responsible for their ‘security’. 

    Suba Singh, former village pradhan said, “A total of 70 farmers have sacrificed their lives for the movement and the BJP led government is still adamant. We are not letting anyone from the BJP to enter our village. If the party doesn’t care for us we don’t care for them.”

    Paramjit Singh, another resident of the village said, “The people are angry and if the party leaders or members come to the village, they will have to face the inevitable. The only way forward is that the government moves back on the farm laws which are not good for the farmers.”

    The state BJP leaders were not available for the comment. 

    Farmers from the district have been actively supporting the Delhi-NCR protests. More than 20,000 farmers from the district have already joined others in Delhi at the protest site.

    More than 3,000 farmers from Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district will drive their tractors to Gazipur on the Delhi border on January 23 to participate in the kisan tractor parade on Republic Day in the national capital. 

    Earlier this month, farmers from the district of have started free bus service to ferry farmers to Delhi at the protest site. The service is available two days a week- Monday and Thursday. 

    The expenses of the service is being borne by local Gurudwara committees for now and the plan is to expand the service to 3-4 days soon. 

    In December 2020, Uttarakhand state police registered case against over 1000 farmers after they marched towards Delhi breaking the barricading by Udham Singh Nagar district police. 

    The police had tried to stop the farmers by force responding to which the farmers defied the ban and went ahead. 

    The case had been registered under sections 147 (Rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty.), 353 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant.), 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease danger¬ous to life.) and under 51 b of Disaster Management Act 2005.

    The district with 42% of agricultural produce leads among 13 districts of Uttarakhand state in terms of agriculture and is also known as the food bowl of the state. With a variety of crops like rice, wheat, maize, barley, sugarcane and others the district produces enough to fulfill food requirements of the population of state of over 1.15 crore. 

    The ‘terai’ district is known for the cultivation of the crops like rice, wheat, sugarcane, maize and soybean and cropping pattern is an ideal way to spot the trend of the various crops grown across various parts of the district.