Haridwar, Nov. 5 -- Regional political outfit Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), which played a key role in the statehood movement in the 1980s and 1990s, is eying a major electoral turnaround in the upcoming assembly elections, party leaders said. UKD won four seats in the state's inaugural 2002 assembly elections and three seats in 2007, but failed to secure any representation thereafter. Having released its first list of candidates for 16 assembly segments, the party is the first to announce its candidates for the 2027 elections. Party leaders said they believed that the early initiative gave them a strategic edge in the run-up to the elections, which have primarily been a direct contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress over the past three election cycles. Some leaders also said that winning a big tally in 2027 would be a fitting tribute to former party president, and cabinet minister Diwakar Bhatt, who died in November 2025. "Regardless of past poll results, our party workers under the new leadership are geared up for the assembly elections," said former Dwarahat MLA Pushpesh Tripathi. Both the Congress and the BJP, however, dismissed the UKD's prospects. "UKD lost its political credibility soon after Uttarakhand gained statehood in November 2000 due to internal factionalism and power struggles," said state Congress vice-president Dhirendra Pratap. BJP MLA Rajkumar Pori, termed said the UKD's candidate announcement would only have any impact on paper. "Since 2012, the UKD has failed to win a single assembly seat and has never won a parliamentary seat since its formation," Pori said....