Dehradun: Following his victory in the Champawat constituency in Uttarakhand, the state Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday held a roadshow in Dehradun.
He had won the Champawat bypolls with a margin of over 55,000 votes. This was a much-needed victory for Dhami to continue as the Chief Minister as he had lost the state Assembly polls held earlier this year despite the BJP's landslide victory in the state.
He secured 58,258 votes against the Congress candidate Nirmala Gahatodi who grabbed only 3,233 votes. Apart from Dhami and Gahatodi, Manoj Kumar Bhatt from Samajwadi Party and Independent candidate Himanshu Gadkoti were also in the fray. The polling took place on May 31 and votes were counted on Friday.
Dhami had lost the Khatima seat in the 2022 State Assembly by-polls and hence contested from Champawat to become an MLA. According to the Constitution, he needed to fulfil this requirement within six months of being sworn in to continue being the state Chief Minister. Dhami lost the Khatima constituency to candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by a margin of 6,579 votes in assembly elections. Later, BJP MLA Kailash Gehtori resigned from the Champawat assembly seat to pave the way for Dhami to contest the said by-polls.
After the massive victory, congratulations poured in for Dhami from his party leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi expressed confidence that the Uttarakhand CM will work harder for the progress of the hilly state. "Congratulations to Uttarakhand's dynamic CM @pushkardhami for the record win from Champawat. I am confident he will work even harder for the progress of Uttarakhand. I thank the people of Champawat for placing their faith in BJP and laud our Karyakartas for their hard work," PM Modi said in a tweet.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who campaigned for Dhami ahead of the polling and held a roadshow with him in Tanakpur in the Champawat district, also congratulated Dhami for the "historic" victory.
Adityanath said that this victory is dedicated to the people's welfare policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dhami's leadership and the hard work of BJP workers. Uttarakhand BJP president Madan Kaushik also congratulated Dhami on the win. "Hearty congratulations and best wishes to the Honourable Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Dhamiji on winning the Champawat by-election with huge votes," he had said. —ANI