BJP wins Lohaghat seat in Uttarakhand

BJP’s tally goes up to 57 in the 70-member House.

Outgoing Chief Minister Harish Rawat exchanges flower petals with school children at his house celebrating the traditional harvest festival of Uttarakhand at Dehradun. Photo. Virender Singh Negi

The BJP won the Lohaghat seat in Uttarakhand as the results were announced on Wednesday after a repoll was held over one poll booth. With this BJP’s tally goes up to 57 in the 70-member House.

The Election Commission ordered a repoll in the Karnkarayat poll booth of the Lohaghat seat due to an electronic voting machine (EVM) malfunction.

According to the EC, BJP candidate Puran Singh Fartyal won the seat on Wednesday, defeating his Congress rival by 834 votes.

The Congress has 11 seats and independents two in the Assembly.

The Congress is yet to decide on its Legislature Party Leader after the outgoing Chief Minister Harish Rawat lost both Hardwar Rural and Kichha seats.

In the BJP, however, the current challenge is that of deciding a Chief Minister. According to highly-placed sources in the BJP, three names — Chaubattakhal MLA Satpal Maharaj, Pithoragarh MLA Prakash Pant, and Doiwala Trivendra Singh Rawat — are being considered by the party’s central leadership.

 A decision would be announced within a day or two, party sources said.