Uttarakhand CM holds roadshow with Yogi Adityanath, faces must-win bypoll

Uttarakhand CM holds roadshow with Yogi Adityanath (Twitter/@@pushkardhami)










As campaigning for the by-poll in Uttarakhand's Champawat enters its last phase, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a roadshow with Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath in Tanakpur on Saturday. The by-poll is critical for both the chief minister and the ruling BJP - Dhami may have been sworn in as CM in March, on the back of an emphatic election victory, but he failed to win an assembly seat. This means he has less than six months to win a by-poll or, in what will be an embarrassment for the BJP, must resign.

The Champawat by-poll is scheduled for May 31. Counting of votes will take place June 3.

And just how serious the BJP is about winning the seat for Dhami is reflected in senior leadership deploying the fiery Yogi Adityanath to make an appearance and offer support.

"The BJP government led by Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami ji has given a model of development in the state of Uttarakhand. To fulfil the dreams of the people of Uttarakhand, BJP is necessary, youth like Pushkar Singh Dhami is necessary," Adityanath said in a tweet.

The seat was won by the BJP's Kailash Chandra Gehtori in this election (and 2017 too).

Gehtori quit to allow Dhami a second shot at an assembly seat. The chief minister previously contested and lost the Khatima seat to the Congress.

The Congress is understandably keen to stop Dhami from being elected and Congress general secretary Harish Rawat has said the party will give the chief minister a 'tough fight'.

The Congress has nominated Nirmala Gehtori for the seat after its earlier defeated candidate – Hemesh Kharkwal - turned down a second shot.

"We will make it a tough fight for the CM. Earlier, voters were vocal about supporting the chief minister but, after our persuasion, they have gone silent and are contemplating what they should do," Harish Rawat was quoted by news agency PTI.

The setback to Dhami aside, the BJP swept 47 of 70 seats in the Uttarakhand assembly election held in February-March to retain power in the hilly state. The BJP also retained power in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Goa in what was a very successful series of polls.


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