RUDRAPUR: Uttarakhhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami defeated his opponent and Congress candidate Nirmala Gahtori by a margin of 55,025 votes in the crucial Champawat bypoll on Friday, breaking the record of the highest votes obtained in a by-election in the state.
Dhami obtained 58,258 votes, highest in a bypoll after the 39,954 votes received by former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna in the Sitarganj by-election held in 2012.
Dhami’s nearest opponent Gahtori got only 3,233 votes while the other two independent candidates failed to touch even the 500-mark. The three of them couldn’t even secure their security deposits as they failed to obtain the percentage of votes according to the set norms of the Election Commission of India..
The counting of Champawat by-election began at 8am on Friday in Goralchaur ground of Champawat district headquarters. It took 12 tables 13 rounds for counting. Dhami himself was present at the counting centre.
The counting of EVM votes in the first round indicated Dhami’s victory and he kept maintaining the lead in all the rounds. He received 3,856 votes while Gahtori obtained only 164 votes in the first round. In the second round, Dhami got 3,579 votes while Gahtori received 148. Dhami received 3,182 votes and Gahtori obtained 113 votes in the third round. Dhami grabbed 2,598 votes and Gahtori 67 votes in the fourth round. In the fifth round, he obtained 4,689 votes and Gahtori received 312 votes.
Also, 1,083 postal ballots were counted after the counting of EVM votes. Dhami obtained 990 and Gahtori 86 postal ballot votes. None of the above (NOTA) option was used by 377 voters in the bypoll.
{{/usCountry}}Also, 1,083 postal ballots were counted after the counting of EVM votes. Dhami obtained 990 and Gahtori 86 postal ballot votes. None of the above (NOTA) option was used by 377 voters in the bypoll.
{{/usCountry}}The independent candidates, Manoj Bhatt and Himanshu Gahtori, obtained 403 votes and 402 votes, respectively.
Returning officer Himanshu Kafaltia handed over the Election certificate to Dhami in presence of district magistrate Narendra Singh Bhandari after the counting of votes.
After the victory, chief minister Dhami offered prayers and sought the blessing of local deity Golju Devta, located close to Goralchaur ground, where the counting was carried out. He went to the temple along with his wife Geeta Dhami.
“I am very thankful for the voters of the Champawat who gave such a wonderful blessing for a historic victory. I would do my level best to fulfil the expectations of the public. Champawat will be made a model constituency in the state and will bring Champawat as a developed area on the map of India,” Dhami said.
“I am very thankful to our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our national leadership who showed confidence in me. Sabka saath-sabka vikas will be our motto towards development,” he added.
In the last assembly elections held in February, Kailash Gahtori of BJP retained the seat by defeating Congress candidate Hemesh Kharkwal by a margin of 5,304 votes. Gahtori obtained 32,547 votes while Kharkwal got 27,243 votes.
Kailash Gahtori resigned from her legislative membership in April to make way for Dhami to enter the Assembly. Dhami was defeated in the assembly election from Khatima seat in February by Bhuwan Kapri of the Congress by a margin of 6,579 votes, despite the BJP registering victory in the Assembly election in the hill state.
The BJP’s ‘CM face’ in the election, the party chose Dhami as the chief minister even after his defeat. He had to be a member of the assembly within six months, as per rules, to continue as the chief minister. Kailash Gahtori offered him his seat and the by-election took place in Champawat seat.
Congress state president, Karan Mahara alleged that there was a misuse of administration in the polling process. “How can a national-level party like the Congress fail to secure its candidate’s security (deposit). There were irregularities in the polling process; it looked like the administration was contesting the election and not the BJP. Our polling agents were threatened by the BJP workers,” he said.
“Dhami himself made a joke of the election process by holding a motorcycle rally a day before the polling. The polling percentage increased after noon and counting ended within three hours. This is the proof that the BJP has misused power,” he added.
Responding to the allegations, Devendra Bhasin, state BJP vice president said that the Congress has become frustrated by the historic win of Dhami and is now levelling baseless allegations. “Their candidate couldn’t even save her security deposit. The people of Champawat have blessed Dhami and the Congress is unable to digest this fact,” he said.