Kotdwar: With Father’s 2012 Defeat in Mind, Will BJP’s Ritu Khanduri Succeed in Fulfilling Her Promise?

Earlier in the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly Election, the Kotdwar constituency seat was won by BJP's Harak Singh Rawat, who recently defected to Congress after being expelled from the party.

Dehradun: Falling under the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, the Kotdwar Assembly Constituency is all set to witness an interesting contest when the state goes to polls on February 14. Earlier in the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly Election, the Kotdwar constituency seat was won by BJP’s Harak Singh Rawat, who recently defected to Congress after being expelled from the party. And, this Assembly Election, the BJP has fielded former chief minister Major General Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri’s daughter Ritu Khanduri Bhushan from the prestigious Kotdwar seat who is all prepared to avenge the defeat of her father from the constituency.

In the 2012 Assembly election, the former CM had lost the Kotdwar seat to Congress’ Surendra Singh Negi. Congress nominee Surendra Singh Negi had registered a victory over Khanduri in Kotdwar in 2012 defeating him by 4,623 votes. Negi had garnered 31,797 votes while Khanduri had got 27,194 votes.

Key Candidates from Kotdwar Assembly Constituency

• BJP’s Ritu Khanduri Bhushan
• AAP’s Arvind Verma
• Congress’ Surendra Singh Negi

BJP’s Ritu Khanduri promises to make Kotdwar a district if elected

BJP candidate for Kotdwar and the sitting MLA from Yamkeshwar Ritu Bhushan Khanduri has promised to make Kotdwar a district if she is elected from the seat. At present, Kotdwar is a part of the Pauri district. Addressing the media, Khanduri said converting Kotdwar into a smart city, taking flood control measures and opening coaching centres for people aspiring to join the armed forces will be among her priorities if she is elected. She also said that she will open a women’s police station in Kotdwar to rein in crime against women.

Bhushan made her political debut in 2017 by winning from Yamkeshwar seat. Congress candidate Surendra Singh Negi, a former MLA from Kotdwar and a minister in the Harish Rawat government, had lost the seat in the last assembly polls. While Negi has already won the Kotdwar seat once and has an edge over Bhushan in terms of experience, the latter is a fresh face, and being the daughter of a BJP veteran can work in her favor.

Stay tuned with India.com for all the updates about the Kotdwar Vidhan Sabha (MLA) Constituency. Click Here to go to India.com’s special Election page and read more about poll campaigns to election results, winners, losers, victory margin, and all other details.