A ground-level survey of the Almora Parliamentary constituency was conducted by India News to analyse the performance of Ajay Tamta, the Member of Parliament from Almora, and gather voters’ feedback about him.
Almora, the parliamentary constituency, is the main religious and tourism centre of Uttarakhand. Surrounded by valleys, Almora is famous for its beauty.
Baijnath, Champawat, Bageshwar, and Pithoragarh are the prominent tourist centres here. The Congress held control over this seat for 38 years after independence. Currently, Ajay Tamta of the BJP represents the constituency. In 2007, Ajay Tamta won the BJP ticket from the Someshwar Assembly seat, becoming an MLA for the first time.
He was appointed as a minister in the Khanduri government. His progress continued, and he became a cabinet minister in the state government in 2008. In 2010, the BJP appointed him as the state president of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Morcha. In 2011, Ajay Tamta became a member of the BJP’s national executive.
In 2009, Ajay Tamta contested the parliamentary elections from Almora against Congress candidate Pradeep Tamta but lost. In the 2014 general elections, Ajay Tamta challenged Pradeep Tamta once again and, riding the Modi wave, reached Delhi. Despite being junior to other party MPs, Ajay Tamta was appointed as a minister in the Narendra Modi government.
In 2016, Ajay Tamta was appointed as the Minister of State at the Centre. His association with the party remained strong, and in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he was re-elected as the MP from Almora.
The Almora Lok Sabha seat has been traditionally considered a Congress stronghold from 1957 to 1991. In 1977, Murli Manohar Joshi became the MP from here. From 1952 to the present, Congress has won 11 times, BJP 7 times, and Janata Party once.
Since 2009, this Lok Sabha seat is reserved for SC candidates. The Almora Lok Sabha seat comprises four districts: Almora, Champawat, Pithoragarh, and Bageshwar. There are a total of 14 assembly seats in this Lok Sabha constituency, with 6 from Almora, 2 from Bageshwar, 2 from Champawat, and 4 from Pithoragarh.
The Almora Lok Sabha seat has around 13 lakh voters. While voters generally focus on developmental issues, caste dynamics play a significant role during elections. All political parties prioritize securing votes more than development on this seat.
In the 2024 general elections, the Almora Lok Sabha constituency holds particular significance. Before the elections, the public is closely evaluating the performance of their Member of Parliament. India News is conducting accurate surveys to gauge public opinion on the incumbent MP’s work, placing the people’s views before the nation.
Presence in Parliament, number of questions asked, utilization of MP funds, and special contributions are factors we consider for parliamentary performance. Ajay Tamta’s presence in Parliament is approximately 89%, with only 5% of the questions directed towards the region and the country’s development, which is quite low.
In terms of MP fund utilization, he has spent 81%, which is commendable, and his special contribution to parliamentary proceedings is around 58%. Based on these factors, Ajay Tamta scores 0.58, slightly below average but above 0.60.
The public in the Almora Lok Sabha constituency, when asked six questions, seems dissatisfied. Most people feel that the MP’s work is not particularly visible in the region. While the focus of MPs on development in the region was evident before, now MPs seem less engaged. Clearly, the public is expressing discontent with the MP’s performance, wanting to see more active involvement in the region.
Regarding voting preferences, the public holds the NDA in higher regard, expressing satisfaction with the Modi government’s work. On the development scale, Almora Lok Sabha’s public rates their MP Ajay Tamta at 7th place with a score of 3.29, which is below average.
India News conducted a survey asking similar questions to the public, and the results align with ground-level dissatisfaction.
The social media survey also reflects this dissatisfaction, with only 40% satisfaction with Ajay Tamta’s ground performance.
Taking into account parliamentary performance, ground-level observations, social media surveys, and our ground survey, Ajay Tamta scores around 4.97 out of 10, which is below average.
Therefore, according to the report card, the public of the Almora Lok Sabha constituency has given MP Ajay Tamta a “FAIL.”
The conversation also touches upon the importance of social media in shaping public opinions. In the social media survey, Ajay Tamta received a score of around 0.70, indicating a better perception of social platforms compared to ground-level observations.
In conclusion, the Almora Lok Sabha constituency’s public appears dissatisfied with MP Ajay Tamta’s performance based on various surveys and assessments, indicating a need for more active and visible involvement in the region’s development.