Voting Begins For Bypolls To 3 Seats, Uttarakhand's Champawat To Decide Dhami's Fate As CM
Bypoll Elections 2022: The other two constituencies where the bye-elections are being held are Brajrajnagar in Odisha and Thrikkakara in Kerala. Counting of votes will be held on June 3.
New Delhi: Bypolls for three Assembly seats in as many states are being held on Tuesday, with the focus being on Champawat in Uttarakhand from where Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is contesting to enter the Legislative Assembly. Pushkar Singh Dhami needs to win the bypoll to continue as CM after he lost from Khatima in the Uttarakhand Assembly polls held in February.
The other two constituencies where the bye-elections are being held are Brajrajnagar in Odisha and Thrikkakara in Kerala. Counting of votes will be held on June 3, the Election Commission (EC) said in a statement.
The Brajrajnagar constituency is set to witness a triangular contest among the ruling BJD, the opposition BJP and the Congress. The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of BJD MLA Kishore Mohanty in December last year.
The Thrikkakara bypoll will be a popularity test for Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan as they both hail from the same district. Congress veteran PT Thomas's death in December last year necessitated the fresh poll.
Congress fielded his widow Uma Thomas, while the CPI-M has given a ticket to cardiologist Joe Joseph. The BJP went for veteran leader AN Radhakrishnan.
However, all eyes will be on the bypoll for the Champawat assembly seat in Uttarakhand as CM Dhami's continuance in office depends on its result.
Dhami must win from Champawat to make it to the state assembly as an MLA - a constitutional requirement for him to remain a CM. The seat was won by BJP's Kailash Gehtori in the Assembly polls.
Kailash Gehtori resigned as an MLA from Champawat on April 21 to pave the way for Dhami to make a bid to enter the state assembly.
Dhami is pitted against Congress' former district president Nirmala Gehtori in a straight contest. Two others in the fray are Samajwadi Party's Manoj Kumar Bhatt and Independent candidate Himashu Gadkoti.
The BJP, which won the state polls for a second term in a row with a two-thirds majority, is sure of Dhami's victory with a record margin.
"The Chief Minister is sure to win by a historic margin. The Congress is nowhere in contest. It is going to be a one-sided affair. People are going to vote for development and the young and dynamic leadership of Dhami," PTI quoted BJP vice president Devendra Bhasin as saying.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was the most prominent among the party's star campaigners. Yogi had held a road show and appealed to voters in Champawat to vote overwhelmingly for Dhami.
"Don't waste this chance of electing a CM who has come to the people of Champawat for the first time after it became a district in 1997," Adityanath had said.
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