Sources have stated that the BJP had won 10 of these 23 seats in 2012 assembly polls while Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had shared the rest, 10 and 3. The BJP also did exceptionally well in these areas in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls winning 19 seats while the Congress could get just 4.
“Given the wave in favor of (Narendra) Modi for Prime Ministership, 2014 outcome was an exception,” a BJP general secretary has said. “We neither have such a face nor a wave this time" and the party is running without a chief ministerial face, largely depending on the ‘achievements’ of the Modi government at the Center.
According to the strategists it has four former chief ministers on its side and an equal number of leaders nursing ambitions for the top post, which may be counterproductive and they fear the current situation may not unite all non-Muslim population, like it did in 2014, but will prompt the minority community to consolidate against the BJP.
Uttarakhand has always chosen its ruler with a wafer thin margin. “Every vote counts. We have taken note of the minority factor and our strategy will be formulated accordingly and Uttarakhand also has 18% Scheduled Caste population, which is equally strong in these 23 seats. The three seats that Mayawati’s BSP won in the last assembly polls are from these areas. A Dalit-Muslim combination helped her gain foothold in the hill state.
