Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami to contest May 31 bypoll from Champawat: BJP

New Delhi: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will contest the upcoming byelection from Champawat, the  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) confirmed on Thursday (May 5). 

The bypoll is slated to be held on May 31 while the results will be announced on June 3, ANI reported. 

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami to contest the upcoming bye election from Champawat: BJP

Voting will happen on May 31 and the counting of votes will take place on June 3.

(File Pic) pic.twitter.com/mU0UBH0b9C — ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 5, 2022

In April, BJP MLA Kailash Chandra Gahtori resigned from the Champawat seat, making way for Dhami. Earlier, soon after Dhami’s swearing-in as the Uttarakhand CM for a second consecutive term, Gahotri had offered to step down. "It will be an honour for me if the chief minister contests from Champawat", he had said. 

Dhami lost his Khatima seat to Bhuvan Chandra Kapri of the Congress in the Uttarakhand Assembly elections held this year. To continue as the CM, he needs to become a member of the state assembly within six months of being sworn in. 

On March 23, 2022, Pushkar Singh Dhami had taken oath as the Uttarakhand CM for a second consecutive term at a grand ceremony held at the Parade Ground in Dehradun. The event was attended by BJP top brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah.

The BJP came back to power in the hilly state by bagging 47 out of a total of 70 assembly seats. It was the first time in the state's 21-year history that a party was elected to power for a second term in a row.

(With agency inputs)