What The Return Of Senior Leader Yashpal Arya Means To The Congress Ahead Of Uttarakhand Assembly Election

Senior leader and transport minister in the current BJP government in Uttarakhand, Yashpal Arya, returned to the Congress ahead of the Uttarakhand assembly election earlier this week. He is a prominent Dalit leader in the state. The polls will be held in the hill state in 2022.

Arya was transport minister in the Dhami government. Reports point that he, just as other leaders who joined the BJP after leaving Congress, was not happy with the working style, and this could trigger a movement of other leaders who had joined the BJP after leaving Congress, back to the Congress.

Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal has reportedly said that many more leaders will leave the BJP and join the Congress before the assembly election.

He is quoted to have added: “This was just a trailer and the actual film is yet to be released. The movie will be screened well before the assembly election. Many more BJP members are in touch with us.”

Here is what the return to the Congress indicates:

Yashpal Arya is a senior leader in Uttarakhand politics. He has four decades of experience in politics and a major part of his career, barring the stint in the BJP, has been towards, largely, the Congress.

“Congress is a sacred temple and I am happy to be here,” he is reported to have said.

The Congress is hoping to take advantage of his return to the Bajpur seat. It is situated in Udham Singh Nagar district and is known for its Sikh population.

With the appointment of Charanjit Singh Channi as the first Dalit chief minister of Punjab, Congress could be intending to set a new narrative in Uttarakhand.

After the change of guard with the appointment of a new chief minister in Punjab, the Congress now looks at the Bajpur constituency for another change, this time in Uttarakhand.

There are reportedly 19 per cent Dalit voters in Uttarakhand.

Former chief minister Harish Rawat, who was steering the work revolving the change of leadership in Punjab, had earlier said that the Congress wants to see a Dalit CM in Uttarakhand.

This report mentions that the movement of Yashpal Arya from the BJP to Congress was "scripted in Rajasthan". The preparation had begun months ago with the help of Harish Rawat, who helped Congress leader Devendra Yadav in steering ahead Arya's return to Congress.

The Congress will be fighting the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party in the 2022 polls in Uttarakhand.