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Uttarakhand: CM Dhami suffers shock defeat, leaders say should introspect
Locals, however, point towards the mismanagement of his campaigning and failure to reach out to the people as some of the reasons behind the result
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lost to Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by 6,579 votes in the Khatima Assembly seat even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headed for a big victory.
The defeat has come as a shock to the BJP workers and supporters, however, locals point towards the mismanagement of his campaigning and failure to reach out to the people as some of the reasons behind the result.
Before Dhami was named as the candidate for Khatima, speculations were rife that he would contest the election from Didihat or somewhere else.
“It is very shocking that Dhami lost his seat in Khatima despite holding CM position. It is a matter of study why this happened. CM’s defeat is not new for the state, but when a party has come in the full majority, CM’s defeat is a matter of introspection for the party high command,” said Kailash Manral, a close associate of Dhami.
The caste factor played a big role in the Khatima constituency. The 119,980 voters comprised 25% Thakur, 5.17% Brahmin, 24% scheduled tribe, 18% scheduled caste, 6.5% Sikh and Punjabi, 4% Bengali, and 7.5% Muslim are voters. The voters are also divided into Pahari, Punjabi, Tharu, SC, Purabiya, and Bengali. Dhami belongs to the Thakur community.
“We failed to gauge the mood of tribals. Tharu tribe shares 18% votes in the Khatima constituency. On the other hand, the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate, who is from the Tharu tribe, couldn’t obtain the votes of the tribe. It seems tribal vote went to Congress and became the reason for CM’s defeat,” said Nandan Singh Kharayat, chairman, Mandi Samiti, Khatima.
“In seven-month tenure, Dhami failed to work as CM to fulfil the expectations of the public. He visited several times but failed to provide employment or develop sources of employment in Khatima. Unemployment is a big problem in Khatima. He may have done for the state, but nothing did for Khatima,” said a trader on condition of anonymity.
During an interview with HT at the time of campaigning, Dhami himself admitted that he didn’t get enough time to focus on his seat.
“I have dedicated the elections to people of my constituency. This time they are fighting elections for me. For me, the whole of Uttarakhand is my home and I have been travelling across the state throughout my life and now also. I have campaigned in over 40 constituencies in the state”, he had said.
According to Dhami’s rivals, the chief minister failed to set up medical and engineering colleges and ensure jobs for the youth in the constituency. He also failed to ensure votes of Punjabi and Sikh farmers who were dissatisfied with the BJP over the three farm laws.
In the last four assembly elections, Congress has won the Khatima seat twice. Dhami contested the election in 2012 for the first time and defeated Devendra Chand of Congress by a margin of 5,394. He had secured 20586 votes. He then retained the seat in 2017 by defeating Bhuwan Kapri by 2,709 votes.
Political analyst Prof MM Semwal, who teaches at Garhwal University said, “The defeat of incumbent BJP chief minister proves that the Congress lost a golden chance to take maximum mileage it could have otherwise taken in the given anti-incumbent scenario.”
