Uttarakhand: Champawat MLA Resigns, Vacates Seat For Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami 

Although the BJP won the recently concluded Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Dhami lost from the Khatima seat he was contesting.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami (Getty Image)

New Delhi: In a move that will pave way for Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to contest by-election from Champawat, the sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kailash Chandra Gahtori resigned from his seat.

Gahtori submitted his resignation to the Speaker of Uttarakhand Assembly Ritu Khanduri at her official residence in Yamuna colony, reported news agency PTI, citing sources.

The Champawat MLA was accompanied by Pradesh BJP president Madan Kaushik, Cabinet ministers Saurabh Bahuguna, Chandan Ram Das and MLA Khajan Das when he submitted his resignation to the speaker.

Although the BJP won the recently concluded Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Dhami lost from the Khatima seat he was contesting. According to the constitution, Dhami has to become a member of the State Assembly within six months from the date of appointment to continue as the CM of the state.

Dhami's defeat from Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district had come as a surprise to many. It was not for the first time that he contested from the constituency, but it has been his traditional seat for some time. He was also declared the Chief Ministerial candidate for Uttarakhand by the BJP during the elections.

In the recently concluded assembly election in Uttarakhand, the BJP won 47 of the 75 constituency seats in the state. It was for the second consecutive time that the BJP came to power in the hill state with this electoral win.  

BJP's tally however, shrank by 10 seats. It had won 57 constituencies in the 2017 assembly elections. While the Congress managed to win only 19 seats.