NEW DELHI: As the countdown for the elections to the Uttarakhand Assembly has begun, the Congress has started preparations in earnest on the plank of development its Government has given to the hill-State. Ahead of a formal launch of campaigning there, the party has initiated a drive aimed at projecting the all-round development undertaken by the Narayan Dutt Tiwari Government with accent on infrastructure.

"Today, Uttarkhand has over 1,500 industries attracting an investment of Rs.17,000 crore. The law and order situation is good and the Government had told the industry that 70 per cent of the jobs should be reserved for people of Uttarakhand,'' senior Congress leader Motilal Vora told correspondents here. Mr. Vora, in-charge of party affairs in the State, has in the past few days visited parts of Almora and Pauri districts.

Yet, he is candid in admitting that the party needs to put in a lot of effort to retain majority in the 70-member Assembly.

During the 2002 general elections, the party won 36 seats and later on four others joined the Congress. The BJP had won 19 seats while the BSP registered its presence in Haridwar region with 7 seats.

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