Kedarnath bypoll: BJP fields Asha Nautiyal, Cong Manoj Rawat

Dehradun: Ending the days of suspense, BJP and Congress on Sunday announced their candidates for the upcoming Kedarnath bypoll. While BJP has nominated Asha Nautiyal, a senior leader and current president of the state BJP's Mahila Morcha, Congress has named former MLA Manoj Rawat as its candidate. The seat became vacant following the death of Shaila Rani Rawat in July.The 55-year-old Nautiyal, a two-time MLA, represented Kedarnath from 2002 to 2007 and from 2007 to 2012, though she lost her seat in 2012. This decision ends speculation by favouring an experienced party figure over Aishwarya Rawat, daughter of the late Shaila Rani Rawat, who had been seen as a frontrunner.Senior BJP leaders had hinted at this direction from the start, aiming to avoid the setback they experienced in Badrinath, where they gave a ticket to recent party entrant Rajendra Bhandari in the bypoll, which ultimately led to a loss.Meanwhile, Manoj Rawat, a 54-year-old former journalist, previously held the Kedarnath seat following a tightly contested race in 2017, where he won by fewer than 900 votes. In 2022, however, he finished third, behind both independent candidate Kuldeep Rawat and BJP's Shaila Rani Rawat.State Congress general secretary (organisation) Mathura Dutt Joshi said, "Congress has fielded a very strong candidate from Kedarnath. Manoj Rawat is popular among the masses and is going to win the seat comfortably. Congress is looking to replicate its success in Badrinath."
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