Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami won the Champawat Assembly bypoll by a margin of over 55,000 votes today.
This will allow him to continue as the chief minister. He had lost in the Assembly polls in the state in March although the BJP registered a landslide victory.
Dhami secured 58,258 votes against Congress candidate Nirmala Gahatodi who bagged just 3,233 votes. Apart from Dhami and Congress’ Gahatodi, Manoj Kumar Bhatt from the Samajwadi Party and Independent candidate Himanshu Gadkoti were in the fray.
“BJP registers win in Champawat by-elections,” Dhami said in a tweet. He also thanked the people of Champawat for showering their love and blessings on him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top BJP leaders congratulated Dhami on his electoral victory. ”Congratulations to Uttarakhand’s dynamic CM @pushkardhami for the record win from Champawat. I am confident he will work even harder for the progress of Uttarakhand. I thank the people of Champawat for placing their faith in BJP and laud our Karyakartas for their hard work,” Modi tweeted.
Dhami had lost the Khatima seat in the state Assembly polls but was still chosen as the chief minister by the party’s top leadership. He contested from Champawat to become an MLA. According to the Constitution, he needed to fulfil this requirement within six months of being sworn in as the chief minister. The BJP won the polls in Uttarakhand for a second consecutive term in a straight contest with the Congress, bagging 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly.
The chief minister visited a polling booth today in Banbasa and also offered prayers at a temple in Khatima.