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Uttarakhand Elections 2017: Can Modi checkmate factionalism hurdle in Uttarakhand BJP?

The Prime Minister’s popularity will get us at least 3,000-4,000 additional votes in every seat: Sanjay Negi, BJP President, Tehri district

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The message is implicit in the slogan, "Atal ne banaya, Modi sawarenge (Atal Bihari Vajpayee created it, Modi will develop it)". Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image towers above state leaders in posters across the hill state of Uttarakhand as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stakes its claim to power.

This is a state, the BJP is at pains to stress, that was created in its previous Vajpayee regime and Modi is the man who will take the promise of development and prosperity forward. Party leaders are hoping that Modi makes an appearance in person at least once more ahead of the February 15 polling to help sway the electorate in its favour.

In an election in which the party decided against projecting a chief ministerial face, the BJP is banking on Modi to take on chief minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat.

If there is unanimity in the state unit on anything, it is on acknowledging that Modi is the party's best card in Uttarakhand, where projecting a state leader as chief ministerial candidate could have led to fissures within being bared open.

In a state unit known for its infighting, there are four chief ministerial aspirants – B.C. Khanduri, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and Vijay Bahuguna. All of them have been chief ministers at some point.

"There is a lot of demand for Modiji. Another rally will further improve the situation for us," said Anil Baluni, party spokesperson and a leader from the state.

With wafer thin margins that have gone down to four votes, elections in the state have seen narrow victories in the past. Uttarakhand has also witnessed a trend of voting alternately for the Congress and the BJP.

"There is no doubt that the prime minister has traction and will give the BJP an edge," said Maharani Raj Laxmi, the party's MP from Tehri.

BJP local leaders exude confidence that Modi will attract additional votes to compensate for any losses caused by the resentment brewing over ticket distribution.

"The prime minister's popularity will get us at least 3,000-4,000 additional votes in every seat," said BJP's Tehri district president Sanjay Negi.

While the Modi factor clearly binds state leaders, there is resentment that the central leaders of the party are calling the shots. A party leader said every state was different and local leaders understood the ground realities better.

The party is promising laptops to the poor, but the people's priorities are water, health, education, bridges and roads, he said.

Modi is being seen as an untainted leader, while the party's battle against corruption had got blunted after it gave tickets to 14 Congress rebels.

"The BJP has taken in so many from the Congress. There is a lot of support for Modi but he is not going to come down here. This election is for Vidhan Sabha," said Ajay Pawar, who runs a hotel in Dhanaulti.

Meanwhile, "Harda" or Rawat hits the campaign trail everyday from morning itself. Some evenings, he flies down to Dehradun from wherever he is in the hills in a chopper and starts again early the next day. However, for the Congress too, overdependence on Rawat could turn into a disadvantage, observers said.

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