'People of Haridwar know that I am the best choice for them'

Former Uttarakhand CM and sitting MP of Haridwar Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank who won the seat with a margin of 1.7 lakh votes in 2014, says he is confident of a bigger victory this time. In a conversation with Ishita Mishra, Nishank talks about why voters should choose him, and the importance of the Haridwar seat for his party

Why do you think people of Haridwar should choose you again?

I am the only leader from Uttarakhand who fought single-handedly to ensure that Haridwar is added into the hill state when the state was being divided from Uttar Pradesh. Even people of Haridwar know that I am the best choice for them which is why they made me win by a margin of 1.78 lakh votes last time. I was chosen by my party to contest Haridwar because even the party knew that I am the only one who can get this crucial seat for BJP.

Why you think Haridwar is a crucial seat?

Because of the caste equation which hasn’t been in favour of BJP. This constituency has 4.5 lakh Muslim voters and 4 lakh Dalit voters. Haridwar also comprises of 4.5 lakh pahadi population along with a significant number of Jats and Gujjars.

Many seers in the holy city are not too happy with the BJP especially with regard to the work done for the Ganga in the past five years by the Modi government. The death of GD Agrawal who died fighting for the Ganga is also fresh in people’s minds. Won’t all these factors adversely affect BJP in the constituency?

I fought for Ganga with Agarwal ji till the end. I made him end his fast twice but I feel he was adamant to end his life for Ganga. Many of his demands were genuine and mining must stop in the river. But not all development works can be stopped immediately. Even development is required.

Before your name was announced as candidate, many other BJP leaders like Naresh Bansal, Manoj Garg and Kunwar Pranav Singh Campion had also jumped into the race. Do you think this internal tussle within the BJP will affect your chances of victory in Haridwar?

This is a democracy and everyone has a right to ask for what they want. Those who were asking for tickets were there with me in my nomination rally. We are all together and know how to take care of our ‘parivar’.

How do you rate your opponents? There was speculation that Harish Rawat opted for the Nainital seat because he wasn’t willing to contest against you in Haridwar.

People of Haridwar love me so much that they are saying that they will make me win with an even bigger margin this time. So, any opponent doesn’t stand a chance. As far as Harish Rawatji is concerned, he was a cabinet minister from Haridwar and has a strong hold here but since last two times, he has faced defeats from here. He has probably pondered over this which is why he himself opted out from Haridwar.

Finally, how do you rate your performance as an MP?

What I have done in Haridwar in last five years is more than what others have done here in last 50 years. I have spent every single penny of my Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund and ensured all-round development of my constituency. From getting underground electricity wiring in the holy town to PNG pipelines and getting sanction of thousands of crores for construction of highways, roads, ROBs, rail track expansion, I have done what people had been demanding for past 50 years.