New Delhi: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami won the assembly by-polls held for the Champawat constituency. He defeated Congress' Nirmala Gahotri, SP candidate Manoj Kumar, and independent candidate Himanshu Garkoti. The by-polls were held on May 31, and Dhami won with a margin of 54 thousand votes.
In the 13th round of vote counting that began at 8 am today, Dhami was leading with a margin of 54,121 votes. He secured 57,268 votes with Congress at 3,147, SP at 409, and independent candidate Himanshu Garkoti at 399 votes. 327 of the votes were given to the NOTA option.
Dhami had lost from the Khatima constituency in assembly elections that were held in February-March 2022. He was beaten by Congress' Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by 6,579 votes. However, he was still sworn in as the CM of Uttarakhand, hence this victory ensures his being in the chair for the term.
After his win was officially confirmed, he took to Twitter to express his gratitude. He wrote, “My heart is very emotional with the love and blessings showered by you through votes in Champawat by-election, I am silent."
The Champawat constituency was won by BJP leader Kailash Chandra Gehtori in March, however, he gave up his seat so Dhami could win an assembly seat.