Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami set to fight bypoll from Champawat post Khatima setback

In an exclusive scoop, Republic TV learnt that Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami is likely to contest the by-election from the Champawat Assembly seat. Dhami was elected as the leader of the BJP Legislative Party and took oath as the Chief Minister for the second consecutive time despite losing to Congress's Bhuwan Chandra Kapri from Khatima in the recently concluded Assembly polls. In order to continue in his position, the CM will have to get elected to the state Assembly within a period of 6 months.

As per sources, the sitting Champawat MLA Kailash Gahtori is likely to submit his resignation to Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri on Thursday. It is pertinent to note that he had offered to vacate his seat for Dhami soon after the latter was sworn in as the CM. So far, Congress has managed to win from Champawat in 2002 and 2012. In the 2022 election, Gahtori beat Hemesh Kharkwal of Congress with a margin of 5304 votes.

BJP sweeps Uttarakhand election 

All 70 seats in Uttarakhand went to the polls in a single-phase on February 14. Congress was seeking to take advantage of the fact that BJP had changed two CMs within a span of 4 months in 2021. Trivendra Singh Rawat served as the Chief Minister of the state until March 9, 2021, when he resigned because of a collective decision taken by the BJP top brass. His successor and Lok Sabha MP Tirath Singh Rawat's tenure as the CM was also short-lived and was replaced by Dhami in July as the Election Commission was unlikely to conduct a by-election owing to the COVID-19 situation.

While the exit polls showed a tight race between BJP and Congress, the former won a comfortable majority of 47 seats with a vote share of 44.33%. Though the vote share of the Sonia Gandhi-led party jumped from 33.5% in 2017 to 37.91%, its seat tally improved slightly from 11 to 19 seats. On the other hand, BSP bagged two seats despite having a marginal presence in the state. AAP failed to open its account with its CM face Colonel (retd.) Ajay Kothiyal losing to BJP's Suresh Singh Chauhan. While ex-CM Harish Rawat faced a humiliating loss in Lalkuwa, his daughter Anupama Rawat emerged victorious in Haridwar Rural.