Campaign ends for five Uttarakhand Lok Sabha seats going to polls on April 19

Dehradun: Campaigning for the five Lok Sabha seats of Uttarakhand which face polls on April 19 came to a close on Wednesday with the BJP seeking a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress appealing for vote for change.

Campaigning drew to a close in Uttarakhand at 5 pm this evening, Chief Electoral Officer B V R C Purushottam said at a press conference here.

Having won all the five seats in Uttarakhand in both 2014 and 2019 general elections, the BJP is seeking to retain them for a third term.

The first phase the Lok Sabha elections will be held on April 19.

The nearly month-long campaign, which started gathering momentum only a fortnight ago, saw the BJP's star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, party national president J P Nadda and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, hold a series of election rallies and roadshows in different parts of the state.

The campaign scene in Uttarakhand was lacklustre initially as it was largely one-sided with the BJP's star campaigners addressing poll meetings in some parts of the state or the other on a daily basis.

The Congress' star campaigners were missing from the landscape until April 13 when party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed her first poll rallies in the state in Ramnagar and Roorkee in support of candidates from Haridwar, Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar and Pauri Garhwal seats.

She asked the people to vote for change, alleging that the 10 years of the Narendra Modi government had done nothing except lying to the people.

Despite making tall claims, the Modi government has not done anything to bring about a qualitative change in the lives of people, she alleged.

"Vote wisely. Otherwise, your daily struggles will continue for another five years," she warned.

The BJP leaders on the other hand sought another term for Modi for the sake of a developed India of which Uttarakhand is an essential part and highlighted the steps taken by the BJP-led NDA government over the last 10 years to strengthen road, rail and air connectivity infrastructure in the state.

The five Lok seats of Uttarakhand going to polls on April 19 are Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar and the lone reserved seat of Almora.

Sitting BJP MPs Ajay Bhatt, Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah and Ajay Tamta have been fielded by the party from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar, Tehri Garhwal and Almora respectively. It has replaced its candidates in Haridwar and Pauri Garhwal.

Former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is contesting in place of Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in Haridwar and Anil Baluni in place of Tirath Singh Rawat in Pauri Garhwal.

The Congress has fielded former PCC president Ganesh Godiyal from Pauri Garhwal, former chief minister Harish Rawat's son Virendra Rawat from Haridwar, Jot Singh Gunsola from Tehri Garhwal, Prakash Joshi from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar and Pradeep Tamta from Almora.