HARIDWAR: As many as 30,000 residents of around a dozen slum settlements in
Haridwar
are being wooed by both Bharatiya Janata Party and
Congress candidates.
According to poll observers, the residents have in the past chosen incumbent BJP MLA Madan Kaushik, who has been winning the seat since 2002.
This time, however, Congress candidate
Satpal Brahmachari
is campaigning aggressively in these settlements, which have a predominant Dalit population.
Haridwar has a total of 1,38,000 electors and the slum settlements can help swing the tide in case of a close finish, say analysts.
Local resident
RM Dobhal
told TOI, “Slum-dwellers mostly favour the BSP or some other party but in the city, slums are the stronghold of Madan Kaushik, a four-time MLA from Haridwar.
The Congress is pitching drug issue to break into the BJP bastion, poll analysts say. Most of the voters living here are daily wagers or small shopkeepers.
Unemployment is another key issue plaguing the area, said
Suresh Dev
, a resident of Rajiv Nagar colony.
He told TOI, “Most people are without jobs. Inflation is also high.”
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