Former CPI-M leader Bipin C Babu joins BJP, criticizes party’s direction
In a major blow to the CPI-M, Bipin C Babu, a prominent leader and former Vice President of the Alappuzha District Panchayat, formally joined the BJP on Saturday.
Sailing on the Modi wave, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) scored its biggest ever assembly election win in Uttarakhand while the ruling Congress was completely decimated.
In a major humiliation, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat lost both the seats of Haridwar (Rural) and Kichha. Rawat’s daughter Anupama was the election in-charge in Haridwar (Rural) and his loss has only added to the woes of the Congress.
Most of the Rawat cabinet minister-including forest minister Dinesh Aggarwal, education minister Mantri Prasad Naithani, health minister Surinder Negi- lost. The Congress headquarters in Dehradun wore a deserted look while the BJP office became hub of all the action. BJP supporters began cracking crackers and distributing sweets as the party took an unprecedented lead.
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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat met Uttarakhand Governor K.K Paul in Dehradun on Saturday and submitted his resignation. Accepting the resignation, Uttarakhand Governor has asked Rawat to work as acting Chief Minister till the formation of the new government.
At 65 per cent, Haridwar reported the maximum voting followed by 63 per cent in Uttarkashi when polls were conducted peacefully in 69 of the 70 constituencies on Feb 15.
As per the trends available for all the 70 seats at 6.30 pm:
| Parties | Leads | Won |
| BJP | 57 | 0 |
| Congress | 11 | 0 |
| BSP | 0 | 0 |
| Others | 2 | 0 |
The majority mark in the state is 36. Uttarakhand voted on February 15 to elect a 70-member house.
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