The BJP’s national media chief Anil Baluni has taken on the challenge of winning in Garhwal (Pauri), Uttarakhand’s largest constituency. Spread over 1,000 sq. km. and home to important religious sites, including the Badrinath-Kedarnath temples, and Hemkund Sahib gurudwara, Mr. Baluni spoke to The Hindu’s Ishita Mishra about his campaign, in which he is promising “guaranteed development and jobs”.
The Opposition is dubbing you as an ‘outsider’ and asking people why they would vote for someone who is not living with them. What do you say to this?
The Congress cannot ask questions from the people, but the people can question the Congress on why it opposed Uttarakhand’s Statehood. This is ‘Devbhoomi’ (land of the gods) and its people will never forget how Congress posed hurdles in the construction of the Ram Mandir (in Ayodhya). The people of the INDIA alliance say that the [followers of the] Hindu religion are like insects.
The Congress wants to finish the character of ‘Devbhoomi’. When Harish Rawat was the CM, he announced off on Jumma (Friday). The Congress candidate from Pauri (Ganesh Godiyal) in the last election had promised to build a Muslim university here. In the 2011 census, it is Uttarakhand, after Assam, where demographic changes happened and the people of Uttarakhand will not let this happen.
The Congress has called [the late] General Bipin Rawat gali ka gunda. The people here are asking Congress why the party abused a son of this soil.
There is a saying in Uttarakhand — ‘pahad ki jawani aur pahad ka pani pahad par nahi rukti’ (the water and youth of the mountains never stay in the mountains). What are your plans to check migration?
Being the Rajya Sabha MP from here, I had started a campaign named ‘apna vote, apne gaon’ (my vote will be in my village). It was a huge success and reduced political migration from the State. To check cultural migration, I started a campaign to ensure that all those who have moved outside the State in search of work must come back to their villages to celebrate at least one festival, be it Holi, Diwali or Igas (a festival celebrated in Uttarakhand after Diwali). Then we also started convincing people to organise at least one wedding or relatives’ function in their native village.
The biggest challenge in keeping people in the hills is connectivity and employment opportunities. For connectivity, we have built roads which can fail highways in cities. We now have a train coming till the Himalayas in Karnaprayag.
People from across India and from abroad are coming for ‘workcation’ in Uttarakhand and we are trying to encash this opportunity via a homestay scheme, which provides tourists a home like experience, and jobs to natives.
What difference do you find between the election of 2014, when Narendra Modi was voted to power for the first time, and now in 2024, when he is targeting a third term?
Every election is different from the other. I have not seen an election like 2024 in my entire lifetime, in which people are contesting the election and not the politician. Whenever I got anywhere for campaigning and people see the BJP’s vehicles, they chant the slogan given by the PM — ‘abki baar 400 paar’ (more than 400 seats for the BJP this time). The enthusiasm of the public is visible and overwhelming. People know that this election is not of MPs (Members of Parliament) but of the PM.
Garhwal has a huge population of defence personnel. Do you see the people’s anger towards the Centre’s Agnipath scheme?
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh barely a fortnight ago has said that the government is “open to change” in the Agniveer recruitment scheme, if necessary.
We brought the UCC (Uniform Civil Code) as a pilot project, which is now under constitutional scrutiny and social review. We are a democratic party. Whenever we find any loopholes in any scheme or plan, we do make necessary and needed changes. Also, we have made reservations for the Agniveers in Central paramilitary forces and the local police, and this is how we are ensuring that a large part of Agniveers are absorbed in government services.
Being a cancer survivor, why did you choose this geographically tough constituency when you could have stayed in the comfort of Delhi?
I was offered a seat from East Delhi too but I chose to come back home to work for my people. I am travelling 300-350 km per day, campaigning in Badrinath, where the temperature is as low as four-five degrees (Centigrade), and also in Ramnagar, which is 35 degrees (Centigrade). All this is not exhausting but rejuvenating me.
Every MP shows some report card. How do you are connecting with the public at the grassroot level?
Pauri is my home town. I have been working here since I started my political career. I am one among the few Rajya Sabha MPs in the country who has run five trains to his State. I have done many experiments in Uttarakhand from my MPLAD (Members of Parliament Local Area Development) funds, like building ICUs (intensive care units) in the hills. Prior to this, MPs were only seen as building roads and drainages. I am making a mountain museum and planetarium in Pauri with a fund of ₹16 crore. No Rajya Sabha MP has used such huge funds for any project before. I will probably be the first among a few Rajya Sabha MPs who brought two trucks of oxygen cylinders from Jamnagar for my State as soon the second wave of COVID hit the world. This part of Uttarakhand witnessed a lot of destruction due to a cloud burst. I placed three Doppler radars in this region, one each in Mukteshwar, Pauri and Chandrabadni.
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