Uttarakhand by-election: CM Dhami will contest from Champawat seat

The BJP on Thursday announced that Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will contest a by-election from the Champawat assembly seat to enter the state assembly, a constitutional requirement for him to continue at the top post. Dhami will have to become an MLA within six months of taking oath as the CM after he lost the Khatima seat in the elections held in February this year.

Voting will be held on May 31 and results will be declared on June 3.

Champawat MLA Kailash Chandra Gahtori had recently resigned to pave the way for Dhami to contest the bypoll from there. Champawat seat is adjacent to Khatima.

The BJP created history in the hill state by retaining power as every other previous government was voted out. It won 47 seats in the 70-member assembly.

Thakur leader Dhami was first sworn in as chief minister last July. As a former president of the BJP youth wing, Dhami enjoys cordial relations with the youth cadre. The party believes that Dhami helped curb the anti-incumbency wave to some extent.

Meanwhile, the other two constituencies where bypolls will be held on May 31 are Brajrajnagar in Odisha and Thrikkakara in Kerala.

The enrollment process will start from May 4 when the notification will be issued. May 11 will be the last date for filing nominations, the Election Commission had said in a statement on May 2.

While the last date for withdrawal of nominations for Thrikkakara is May 16, it is May 17 for Champawat and Brajrajnagar. The bye-election will also help the Election Commission to fill vacancies in the electoral college that elects the President of India. The term of the current President ends on July 24.

After the death of Kishore Kumar Mohanty of BJD, the by-election was held in Brajrajnagar assembly seat. After the death of PT Thomas of Congress, a by-election was held in Thrikkakara.

(with inputs from PTI)

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