Migrants from villages show keen interest in Uttarakhand Panchayat polls

Migrants from villages show keen interest in Uttarakhand Panchayat polls

B.D.Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, July 25

New trends were seen in the panchayat elections in Uttarakhand as the first phase concluded on July 24.

“While local habitants of villages were unenthusiastic in taking part in panchayat elections while the migrants who had left their villages for towns and cities were seen taking interest in these election as they came to vote in their respective villages from remote places of their settled places,”said Shekhar Drivedi, a journalist based in Almora.

A IPS, Vimla Gunjal of Gunji village in Munsiyari in Pithoragarh and Yashpal Singh Negi ,a retired Army colonial, of Birganj village of Pauri district, were elected unopposed for the post of Gram pradhan.

With  65 percent votes casted in Kumaon region on the first phase of Panchayat elections this year, the voting percentage in Pithoragarh was  64.09 per cent, Champawat at 65 per cent, Bageshwar at 60 per cent, Almora at 56 percent, US Nagar nearly 80 percent and Nainital at 60 percent.

Shekhar who travelled extensively to cover the panchayat election yesterday said that  in Dhauladevi block of the district where the panchayat election were held on 24th, some of the booths were full of vehicles from the voters who reached the villages from Haldwani, Delhi, Chandigarh.

“An Army colonel, Hemraj Singh, and his wife have reached to vote in Chalthi polling booth of Dhauladevi block, from Rajouri, where he is currently posted,” said Shekhar.

“In some blocks like Dhauladevi and Chaukhotia blocks, the voting strength of migrants was higher than that of locals and it seems their role will have  bigger role in results,” claimed Shekhar.

According to Puranik Pandey, youth voters have also shown  interest in voting in panchayat election this year.”

“Not only in Almora but in the village, Bamangaon in Munsiyari, over 16 families , settled outside village, have reached the village to vote in panchayat elections,” said Puran Pandey, a resident of Munsiyari.

According to Pandey, in Harkot polling booth of Munsiyari, out of 28 new voters registered this time, 24 have reached the booth to vote from outside the village locations. “In 6 booths of Munsiyari, as Balthi, Sevila, Basankot, Gandhi nagar Mawani and Kitagaon, most of voters were those, who have settled outside the village,” said Pandey.

Another new trend, that was witnessed in panchayat elections this year, was big craze of educated youths towards the panchayat elections, as several educated or professionally educated youth contested the election probably to find livelihood in local political set up.

“We came across several youths who are either preparing for competitions or qualified as B.Teck or B.ed are contesting the elections this time,”said Pandey.

Not only in Pithoragarh and Almora but in Nainital and US Nagar, several professionally qualified youth have come into election fray this time. “Kavita Arya, a school teacher in Basani village,Diksha Bisht, and Vaishali Negi both B.ed, are contesting for the post of Gram Pradhan in Gaulapar area of Haldwani sub division of Nainital district,” said Ganesh Pathak, a resident of Haldwani.