With the polling day for Kedarnath assembly bypoll drawing closer the BJP has intensified its campaign to save its prestige in the country’s prominent sanatan pilgrimage center.

The BJP is going all out to ensure victory in the by-election voting for which will be held on November 20. Party leaders in Dehradun claimed that Kedarnath by-election result would have wider implications for the party as the BJP had lost its two pivotal sanatan religious centers, Ayodhya in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, and Badrinath in the state assembly bypolls in August 2024.

Uttarakhand BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt and party’s senior state office bearers, including organisational general secretary Ajay Kumar, Aditya Kothari and host of other leaders have been camping in Kedar Valley to lead the campaign from the day bypoll dates were announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Former chief minister and Haridwar Lok Sabha MP Trivendra Singh Rawat now pitched in as only four days are left for the voting. He has been reaching out to the voters in the hill villages asking them to vote for the BJP candidate as the Narendra Modi-led Central government has given a large number of development projects to the region particularly Kedarnath Shrine area.

Rawat especially appealed to the women voters in the constituency to vote for the party as the state government and Centre have provided substantial benefits to them via various women centric schemes in the state. Apart from Rawat Pauri MP Anil Baluni has also announced to camp in Kedarnath to campaign for the party.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his cabinet colleagues, including Dhan Singh Rawat, known as a poll strategist, Finance Minister Premchand Aggarwal and Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal had been spending most of their time in the constituency seeking votes for the BJP nominees and party’s state women president Asha Nautiyal.

Nearly 100,000 voters will cast their votes to elect their new representative from Kedarnath assembly constituency on November 20. The seat fell vacant due to the death of former BJP MLA Shailarani Rawat. While Nautiyal is BJP candidate in the bypoll, Congress party has fielded former journalist Manoj Rawat for the third time in a row. Rawat had won his maiden assembly election from Kedarnath in 2017 but was defeated by Shaila Rani Rawat in 2022.

“Loss of Kedarnath bypoll will have its direct impact on the BJP’s national standing and performance of the chief minister Pushkar Singh Singh Dhami led state government” said a BJP state organisation secretary under condition of anonymity.