Dehradun. Riding on the popularity chariot of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP on Thursday created a new history by returning to power in Uttarakhand with a two-thirds majority. With the BJP unfurling the victory flag in 47 out of 70 seats in the assembly election results declared on Thursday, the BJP easily crossed the magic figure of 36 to win the race for power.
In the electoral history of this state, which came into existence after the reorganization of Uttar Pradesh in the year 2000, no party has formed the government twice in a row and the BJP and Congress have been coming to power alternately. However, this time the BJP, which had set itself a target of winning more than 60 seats, could not repeat its old performance. In the last election, the BJP had won a massive mandate by winning 57 out of 70.
The performance of the Congress, which was dreaming of forming the government on the basis of anti-incumbency wave, was also not up to the mark and many veteran candidates including its undeclared chief ministerial candidate Harish Rawat lost the election. However, it made some improvement from its previous performance in 2017 to win 18 seats while its candidate is leading in one more. In the last election, the Congress was reduced to just 11 seats. Two seats each in the state have gone to the account of Bahujan Samaj Party and independents.
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Meanwhile, the BJP’s victory has been marred by the failure of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to retain his assembly seat Khatima in the elections. Dhami was defeated by Congress’s caretaker state president Bhuvan Chandra Kapri by a margin of 6,579 votes. Swami Yatheeswaranand, who was a cabinet minister in Dhami’s cabinet, lost to Congress candidate Anupama Rawat in Haridwar Rural seat. Anupama is the daughter of Congress leader Harish Rawat.
Rawat, who spearheaded the election campaign of Congress in the state, lost from Lalkuan seat to BJP candidate Mohan Singh Bisht by a huge margin of 17,527 votes. State Congress President Ganesh Godiyal also lost to outgoing MLA Dhansingh Rawat from Srinagar seat. Another Congress stalwart Govind Singh Kunjwal, who was so far invincible in Jageshwar seat, lost to BJP’s Mohan Singh by 5,883 votes. From Raipur in Dehradun district, Umesh Sharma Kau of BJP once again retained his seat by defeating his nearest rival Heera Singh Bisht of Congress by 30,052 votes but also won the biggest victory in the state.
In the last election also, Cow had won the state by the largest margin of 36,000 votes. Other promises including free electricity, free pilgrimage and unemployment allowance of the Aam Aadmi Party failed to woo the people of the state and its account could not be opened. Retired Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, AAP’s chief ministerial face, finished third in Gangotri seat behind BJP’s Suresh Chauhan and Congress’s Vijaypal Singh Sajwan. AAP had contested the assembly elections on all the 70 seats in the state. (agency)