Even as the ruling BJP maintains comfortable lead in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is trailing as per early trends.
Dhami, who contested from Khatima constituency, is seen trailing by 954 votes, according to Election Commission data at 10:45 am. Dhami is trailing behind Congress leader Bhuwan Chandra Kapri. Dhami had won the seat in 2017 by a small margin of 2,709 votes.
The Congress’s CM candidate Harish Rawat is also trailing by over 7,000 votes. Congress stalwart Rawat was pitted against BJP's Mohan Singh Bisht from the Lalkuwa seat.
Ahead of counting on Thursday morning, Rawat had expressed confidence that the Congress will win majority. He said: “We are winning on most of the seats and there's a close contest where we're trailing. In an hour, these leads will convert into a majority for the Congress in Uttarakhand and it will get a majority in Punjab as well.”
In Haridwar rural seat, Harish Rawat’s daughter Anupama Rawat is trailing behind BJP’s Swami Yatishwaranand by a margin of over 3,000 votes.
The ruling BJP is leading in 33 seats on Thursday, according to early trends available. The exit polls had predicted a close fight between the Congress and the BJP, with several others also predicting a hung assembly.
The polling was held in the state on February 14 with more than 65 per cent of the electorate casting their votes.
