Former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat  |  Photo Credit: PTI
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Key Highlights
- The Assembly elections for 70 seats in Uttarakhand will be held in a single phase on February 14
- The results will be announced on March 10
Dehradun: Uttarakhand is heading for high-voltage Assembly elections which will see a triangular contest among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and a new entrant in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for 70 constituencies in the state.
The Assembly polls will be held in a single phase on February 14 and the results will be declared on March 10.
According to political analysts, AAP may pose a formidable challenge to the incumbent BJP and a Congress which is leaving no stone unturned to come back to power which it relinquished in 2017.
Currently, the saffron party sits at the helm of the state government with a solid 57 out of 70 seats to its name. Due to various reasons, Uttarakhand has seen three BJP chief ministers – Trivendra Singh Rawat, Tirath Singh Rawat and Pushkar Singh Dhami – in the last 5 years.
Reportedly, Trivendra Rawat was removed from the post after several party leaders rebelled against his leadership while lack of support and popularity were seen as reasons for Tirath Rawat’s removal.
Pushkar Dhami was appointed chief minister of Uttarakhand in July last year and is leading the BJP’s charge for the upcoming elections as its CM candidate.
Result of Uttarakhand Assembly elections 2017
The 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly elections were held on February 15. Only 69 out of 70 seats went to polls on that day as polls were postponed for the Karnaprayag constituency to March 9. The results were announced on March 11.
BJP swept the elections by winning a total of 57 seats, an increase of 26 seats from its 2012 tally. It formed the government and appointed Trivendra Singh Rawat as chief minister.
The saffron party secured more than 23 lakh votes and 46.5 per cent vote share overall.
Congress was the biggest loser in the 2017 Assembly elections as it managed just 11 seats, a whopping drop of 21 seats from its 2012 result.
The grand old party garnered over 16 lakh votes at 33.5 per cent vote share.
None of the other contesting parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), Samajwadi Party (SP) or any Independent candidate managed to win a single seat.
Later when election to Karnaprayag was held, BJP secured a comfortable victory there too.