Summary:
Dehradun, Mar 10 (PTI) The BJP on Thursday retained power Uttarakhand with a comfortable majority, breaking the trend of the hill state voting out the ruling party, but Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lost from the Khatima assembly constituency.
The BJP has won 47 assembly seats out of the total 70, belying pollsters who had predicted a close race between the saffron party and the Congress.The Congress won 18 seats and was leading in one seat by a very narrow margin, while its campaign head and former chief minister Harish Rawat lost to Mohan Singh Bisht of the BJP in Lalkuwa.
The Aam Aadmi Party which had promised a number of freebies could not open its account despite fielding candidates from all the 70 seats.
Dhami lost by a margin of 6,579 votes to Bhuwan Chandra Kapri of Congress in Khatima.
The defeat of the chief minister who led the BJP"s campaign against the Congress in the state throws up a big question before the saffron party on the issue of choosing the next chief minister.
Dhami was appointed the chief minister last July, replacing Tirath Singh Rawat who resigned within four months of taking charge from Trivendra Singh Rawat.