Can BJP keep the Kedarnath crown, or will it cede to the Congress?

Kedarnath is all set to go to polls on Wednesday, 20 November, with the BJP and Congress locked once again in a straight contest in the assembly constituency, with the stakes high for both the parties.

While the BJP faces the challenge of retaining the seat, the Congress is looking to ensure the BJP's defeat in yet another Hindutva seat after Badrinath.

Campaigning for the by-poll, which drew to an end on Monday evening (18 November), saw principal rivals BJP and Congress throwing all their might into wooing voters.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal Anil Baluni and state BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt visited the constituency several times over the past fortnight to gather support for BJP nominee Asha Nautiyal, who is also the state BJP Mahila Morcha president.

Apart from holding election meetings in the constituency, Dhami held two bike rallies to mobilise voters in favour of the party.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's association with Kedarnath and his direct involvement in the reconstruction projects worth more than Rs 2,000 crore launched in Kedarpuri after he came to power at the Centre has been one of BJP's major poll planks for the by-poll, necessitated by the death of party MLA Shaila Rani Rawat in July this year.

Wherever BJP leaders went campaigning, they spoke of Modi's deep attachment to Kedarnath and the priority he has accorded to the reconstruction projects underway at the Himalayan temple and the surrounding areas.

"No prime minister before Modi visited Kedarnath. He has come here as many as seven times as PM. The mega reconstruction projects in Kedarpuri were also launched after he took over as the PM," Dhami said at one of his election meetings in the constituency.

Alongside that, the party has also been highlighting the introduction of a strict anti-conversion law, a 'crackdown' on 'land jihad' and the passage of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as bold measures taken by the state government to 'stop the changing demography' of the hill state to woo voters.

Meanwhile, the Congress is also hopeful.

Buoyed by its retention of the Badrinath seat and winning Manglaur in the July by-poll after the severe thrashing by the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, in which it lost all the five seats in the state to the saffron party, Congress is optimistic about wresting away Kedarnath from the BJP.

Former chief minister Harish Rawat, PCC president Karan Mahara, his predecessor Ganesh Godiyal and leader of the opposition in the state assembly Yashpal Arya campaigned aggressively in the constituency for party nominee Manoj Rawat, a journalist-turned-politician.

"It is an opportunity for the people of the constituency to elect a leader who can strongly stand in support of them and allay their problems," former PCC chief Ganesh Godiyal who campaigned actively in the constituency said.

Lack of development, BJP's alleged protection for the killers of Ankita Bhandari, mismanagement of the Chardham Yatra during the 31 July disaster and the state government's support of the construction of a replica of Kedarnath in Delhi are some of the issues the Congress has raised to win voters.

Countering the Congress' charge, Dhami said he never supported construction of a temple by that name in Delhi and subsequently passed a law prohibiting the formation of any committee or trust using the name of the Char Dham temples.

"I reach ground zero in case of every disaster to be amidst the victims. Even during the 13 July disaster, I reached the victims immediately. More than 16 lakh pilgrims stranded at different places on way to Kedarnath and back were rescued safely," Dhami told a poll rally recently.

"Development work done in Kedarnath over the past 10 years has been exemplary and I am confident that the people of Kedarghati will once again make the lotus bloom in this by-election, putting their stamp of approval on the BJP government's works and policies," Dhami said.

Of the five assembly elections held in Kedarnath so far, the BJP has won thrice and the Congress twice.

The seat fell vacant after the death of sitting BJP MLA Shailarani Rawat in July 2024. Both the candidates, Nautiyal and Rawat, have represented the Kedarnath assembly seat in the past.

Nautiyal won it in 2002 and 2007 as a BJP candidate. Shaila Rani Rawat won it in 2012 on a Congress ticket. She contested the seat as a BJP nominee in 2017 and lost to the Congress' Manoj Rawat. However, she wrested the seat from Rawat in 2022.

A total of 90,540 voters, including 45,775 women, in the constituency are eligible to exercise their franchise on Wednesday at 173 polling stations. The result of the by-election will be declared on 23 November.