The Dehradun mayoral poll has become a prestige issue for the ruling BJP and the Congress as the latter has been facing a series of losses in the 25-year electoral history of the urban local body polls.

Amidst BJP’s claim to win all 11 municipal corporations in Uttarakhand Congress is hopeful of breaking its chain of losses, in Dehradun Mayoral poll, that it never won after 2003. Congress leaders have stated that for the first time factionalism in the organisation has taken a back seat on its mayor candidate for Dehradun municipal corporation election 2025.

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The party has fielded its most benign and non-controversial face Virendra Pokhariyal as Dehradun mayor election nominee. Pokhariyal has been a staunch statehood agitator and was imprisoned for three months in late 1990s.

Students across the state in general and particularly in Dehradun were on the streets to protest for the formation of Uttarakhand under his leadership. Congress leaders claimed that warring factions in the state organisation have buried their hatchets over Pokhriyal’s candidature and have joined hands to support him.

The BJP, on the other hand, has fielded its youth wing leader Saurav Thapliyal as the lone choice of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Thapliyal was picked ignoring the candidature of sitting BJP mayor of Dehradun Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’. Besides this BJP leadership has also ignored another strong name for mayoral poll Siddharth Agarwal annoying a larger section of the business community in the Dehradun Municipal area.

BJP has won three of the four Dehradun municipal polls held so far in the last nearly 24 years of state’s creation. Congress won the first Dehradun municipal corporation in 2003 but lost all three in 2008, 2013 and 2018.

“There is no reason why Congress candidates should not win the Dehradun mayoral polls this time. Pokhariyal is an statehood activist who was at the front in the formation of the state. He was jailed for three months during statehood agitation and has been three terms students association president of DAV College.

“He is known for his honesty so much that even the opposition appreciates him for that. He is one of the best candidates the party has even nominated for the Dehradun mayor poll” said senior Congress spokesperson Garima Dasauni.

However BJP too claimed that it will win Dehradun municipal polls fourth consecutive time.

The Dehradun mayor poll is indeed crucial and victory is important for the BJP but we are winning hands down irrespective of the candidate Congress has fielded.

Elections are fought by the organisation and BJP has a strong organisational base as against the Congress which is utterly unorganised. Besides this our mayor candidate is a youth leader with deep grassroot presence.”