Retired Admiral OPS Rana’s name almost final for Pauri parliamentary constituency as BJP candidate

If we believe in the media reports from Uttarakhand, the name of Rear Admiral ( R) Om Prakash Singh Rana has been finalised by BJP from Pauri Lok Sabha constituency.

Currently this constituency is being represented by retired major general Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri who is considered to be physically unwell having crossed 75 years of age.

While the BJP has cleared the age limit criteria which was earlier being considered as a bottleneck for those who’d crossed 75 years of age but sources say that Khanduri himself has expressed his inability to contest.

However the name of Khanduri’s son who’s a senior journalist is also being talked about in social media circles but since his daughter is already the BJP MLA from Yamkeshwar, Garhwal the party can’t oblige two family members from one state.

Pauri Garhwal parliamentary constituency being one of the biggest constituency ranging from Badrinath to Kotdwara requires lot of energy n physical capability to campaign during elections n Khanduri being 78 years of age, being unwell as well, would find it difficult to contest.

Moreover, the party wants some new entrant who has better chances of winnability and is physically fit as well and as such non controvertial, Om Prakash Singh Rana who’s just retired and carries behind him an excellent track record as an ex serviceman, is the best choice.

Rana is physically fit, handsome, energetic, well read and also hails from Gopeshwar Rudraprayag from where he’d completed his intermediate, BSc n MSc before joining the defense services.

AVSM, PVSM n also the chief of Brahmos Missiles as well as rear admiral an officer of impeccable integrity Om Prakash Singh Chauhans’s name seemed to have been cleared by the BJP high command.

The names of Shourya Doval, son of NSA Ajit Doval and Ajay Kothiyal were doing the rounds for several months but it seems that due to a recent controversy that appeared in a Caravan magazine about the father son duo Shaurya’s name has been dropped. However, it’s not confirmed.

Shaurya Doval had been participating in various social functions in Pauri Garhwal to give an impression that he is definitely interested to contest. But what happened now is anybody’s guess as unconfirmed reports in Uttarakhand media suggest the name of a surprisingly new entrant retired real admiral OPS Rana.

The Congress party has also not open its cards on the Pauri seat. It is believed that the name will be cleared on 16th when Congress chief Rahul Gandhi visits Dehradun to address a massive public meeting n to also confabulate with key leaders n party workers of the state.

However, in political gossips, the name of the former health minister n MLA from Kotdwar Surendra Singh Negi was being mentioned very often being a Rajput and popular n reputed socio politically. His wife has recently won as the Mayor of Kotdwar being the lady’s seat.

There were also rumours that the BJP forest minister Harak Singh Rawat had expressed his wish to contest from this seat.

Pauri Lok Sabha constituency is considered to be a hot bed of Garhwal politics n Uttarakhand which was once represented by the late national political stalwart n former UP CM n union minister H. N. Bahuguna.

It was the Pauri Lok Sabha seat that witnessed a historical election between HN Bahuguna n Congress’s Chandra Mohan Singh Negi in 1984.

The then PM Indira Gandhi made this by election her prestige issue n the BBC news termed it as an election between Bahuguna n Indira which was postponed due to large scale rigging but Bahuguna finally won by 30 thousand votes creating a history of sorts.

Rana is currently living in Dehradun having retired in 2017. The present MP n former Uttarakhand CM Khanduri joined active politics in 1991 after retirement from Army’s job at the behest of RSS leadership who wanted late HN Bahuguna’s immediate relative to counter his political influence in Garhwal n Khanduri was the best n fitting choice.

He represented the Pauri Garhwal constituency several times but shockingly lost from Kotdwar legislative constituency as CM.

Uttarakhand has in all 2.25 lakh exservicemen n widows as voters out of which Pauri has the maximum number. The exservicemen votes play a vital role in deciding the fate of the candidate which usually go in favour of the ruling party. After the successful airstrikes on the Jaish’s terror camps in Balakot the Bhartiya Janata Party is banking on capitalising the situation.

Therefore being a rear admiral as its candidate suits the BJP from the winnability of the seat of Pauri where usually after every election whether parliament or assembly, the people prefer change. But the BJP this time wants to reverse this trend.

According to BJP sources, this would be the best replacement against the candidature of Khanduri.

Khanduri’s daughter is the BJP lawmaker from one of the Pauri Garhwal’s MLA constituencies.