Uttarakhand CM Dhami wins by election by over 90% votes

Dehradun, Jun 3: Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has won the Champawat bypoll by over 55,000 votes. Dhami had to win to remain as chief minister. He had been sworn into the state's top post in March after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party retained power in the February-March election but he lost his individual race from Khatima to the Congress.

 

 

“My heart is very emotional with the love and blessings showered by you through votes in Champawat by-election, I am silent,” the chief minister tweeted moments after his victory was all but officially confirmed.

 

 

 

Pushkar Singh Dhami beat out the Congress' Nirmala Gahtori and the Samajwadi Party's Manoj Kumar Bhatt, as well as an independent candidate in Himanshu Garkoti. He had been beaten by the Congress’ Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by 6,579 votes in the Feb-March election. The BJP's Kailash Chandra Gehtori, who won this seat in the full election, quit so chief minister Dhami could get a second shot at winning an assembly seat. Last week the BJP unleashed Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to help campaign for Dhami. The pair held a massive roadshow in Tanakpur.

 

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In a video posted by news agency ANI, dozens of BJP supporters are seen raising slogans for Dhami around a large open-top bus smothered in orange garlands. Dhami can be seen on the top deck smiling and waving to supporters. "The BJP government led by Shri Pushkar Singh Dhamiji has given a model of development in Uttarakhand. To fulfill the dreams of the people of Uttarakhand, BJP is necessary, youth like Pushkar Singh Dhami is necessary," Adityanath said.