Rebel Bisht cost Cong Dhanaulti seat

Mussoorie, March 10
The inability of senior Congress leaders to find a solution to the problem of the rebel candidate contesting the Assembly elections from Dhanaulti in Tehri Garhwal district has cost the party dearly.

The Dhanaulti seat, considered a stronghold of the BJP, which the party won even in the last elections, was de-reserved in the delimitation exercise and the Congress had pinned its hope on wresting the seat from the BJP this time.

However, with rebel Congress candidate Jot Singh Bisht fighting the elections from this seat made the chances of win of the Congress candidate bleak. BJP candidate Mahavir Singh Rangad, who contested the Assembly elections from Dhanaulti for the first time, the going much to his liking despite resentment against former BJP MLA Khajan Das.

Rangad won the elections garnering 12,081 votes, while Congress candidate Manmohan Singh Mall secured 10,933 votes and rebel Congress candidate Jot Singh Bisht finished third with 10,261 votes.

Political observers believe that the shifting of Congress workers’ votes in the Thauldhar region of the Dhanaulti constituency in favour of Jot Singh Bisht in a such large number was the major reason for Mall’s defeat.

The Congress supporters also believe that if the the poll managers in the party had tried seriously to salvage the situation and won over Bisht, the division of votes could have been avoided easily. They also believe that if either Mall or Bisht had contested the elections on Congress ticket, he would have polled more than 20,000 votes and won.

On the other hand, Bisht, who garnered around 6,000 votes, made a dent in the vote share of both Congress and BJP.