Revision as of 23:21, 4 April 2017

Ownership of assets by political parties

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Partywise increase in average assets, 2012-17; The Times of India, Feb 9, 2017

CM's official bungalow

Jinxed?

Yogesh Kumar, Rawat moves into `jinxed' CM bungalow, Mar 30, 2017: The Times of India

Bungalow of Chief Minister of Uttarakhand; Yogesh Kumar, Rawat moves into `jinxed' CM bungalow, Mar 30, 2017: The Times of India

Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat shifted to the Uttarakhand CM's official bungalow at New Cantt Road in Dehradun.

The building has for long carried a tag of being jinxed due to the belief in political circles that the CM who stays there will not be able to complete his full term. The previous CM, Harish Rawat, had preferred to use the state government's official guest house, lending further credence to the rumours.

Refusing to be spooked, Trivendra Rawat had indicated soon after taking over as CM that he would be using the official residence.

Nevertheless, he decided to make the shift on the second day of the Navratra season, considered auspicious for new beginnings, after con ducting a two-hour-long puja along with his wife and two daughters. Many of his cabinet ministers like Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat, Prakash Pant, Yashpal Arya and Madan Kaushik as well as state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt were in attendance.

A close aide of Rawat told TOI on Wednesday that there was “no vastu dosh in the house and so experts were not needed.“ He said the rituals conducted were that of a “usual griha pravesh ceremony.“ He said the CM wanted “to keep things simple and so no expensive furniture would be kept in the house.“ “The family use only five of the 60 rooms in the house. The CM has also asked that the swimming pool be closed since operating it will mean wastage of water at a time when the state is grappling with water shortage,“ he said. The CM's official bunga low, designed in the traditional pahari style, was built in 2010 at an estimated cost of Rs 16 crore and is spread over an area of 10 acres. It had no occupant for over three years because of its `jinxed' tag.

The CMs who have stayed here ­­ Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Maj General (retd) BC Khanduri and Vijay Bahuguna ­­ could not complete their full terms.

Asked about the house's unsavoury reputation, ex-CM Bahuguna said it was “idle talk.“ “Harish Rawat stayed away from the house but he lost polls from two seats. This is just idle talk circulated by rumour-mongers.“

Male: female ratio

2017: Women outnumber men in 6 seats

Kautilya Singh, Women voters outnumber men in 6 Uttarakhand seats, Feb 15, 2017: The Times of India

Bucking the trend of fewer women voters than men in most assembly seats across the country , the women outnumbers male electors in six constituencies of Uttarakhand and are almost equal in terms of their numbers in at least five other seats. The six seats are Kedarnath (women: 42,055; men: 40,738), Pauri (women: 45,909; men: 45,753), Chaubattakhal (women: 44,326 women; men: 43,663), Dharchula (women: 42,253; men: 41,590 men), Didihat (women: 41,596; men: 39,083) and Dwarahat (women: 46,163; men 43,438). Interestingly, all the po litical parties, in their campaigns for these seats, have focused on issues raised by women, especially their demand for a curb on the sale of liquor in the hills.

Incidentally , women are at the centrestage of the po litical battle in Kedarnath where a straight fight is expected between BJP's Shaila Rani Rawat, who defected from Congress last year, and Asha Nautiyal, who was earlier in BJP but is now contesting as an Independent after being denied a ticket.

Both candidates have been trying to woo the female voters by pursuing outreach programmes in the villages and also through gestures like cutting grass with the women and sharing meals with them.

Ritual animal sacrifice during elections

Shivani Azad, As poll nears, sacrifice of animals hits high gear, Feb 13, 2017: The Times of India

Polls in the hills are around the bend, now's the time to please gods and voters with feasts, pujas and animal sacrifices at select temples of Uttarkashi and the Jaunsar Bawar region of Garhwal.

The feasts are on, several of them were held recently in the villages of Chakrata. Sacrificial goat meat offered to the gods was distributed among villagers, sources say . No villager will say which politician organised the sacrifice, but it's an open secret that this is a key poll-time ritual.

Priests say winning candidates often offer animal sacrifices. “At shrines like Gabella's Kukarshi temple, the Chalda Mahasu temple at Chakrata and Kachnu devta in Uttarkashi, such sacrifices happen, but after a candidate has won. That too, if the winner has pledged a sacrifice to the gods,“ says Mohan Lal Semwal, purohit, Mahasu devta temple.