Uttarakhand: BJP romps home despite CM Dhami’s defeat

On March 8, a day after exit poll trends were out, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his wife, Geeta, visited the local deity Mahasu Devta at Hanol, in Dehradun district. Dhami prayed for happiness and good luck, and performed the traditional Harul Tandi dance with folk instruments, following tribal customs.

Dhami’s prayers were answered when results came out on March 10. Although exit polls pointed towards a hung assembly, voters of Uttarakhand reposed their faith in the BJP. According to latest reports, the party has won 38 seats and was leading in another nine seats in the 70-member house. As the BJP and the Congress were worried about a hung assembly, senior leaders of both parties were camping in the hill state to “manage” the situation.

The BJP was all the more concerned because Uttarakhand has always elected a new government in every poll. But, it appears that the Modi magic has worked this time. In an earlier interview with THE WEEK, Dhami said ever since Modi became prime minister, all patterns had been broken.

Dhami, who took over as chief minister last July, managed to turn the tide in the BJP’s favour, but he lost from Khatima constituency in Udham Singh Nagar district. The seat has a considerable number of Sikh voters, who were upset with the Union government’s farm laws. Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri defeated Dhami by over 6,000 votes. The BJP will now have to decide whether to nominate a chief minister from among the MLAs or to pick someone else.

Dhami’s loss, meanwhile, confirms another pattern of Uttarakhand that none of the incumbent chief ministers has ever been re-elected. In the past 20 years, the state has seen 11 chief ministers and only N.D. Tiwari of the Congress was able to complete a full term. Interestingly, chief ministerial candidates of the other two major parties—Harish Rawat of the Congress and Ajay Kothiyal of the Aam Aadmi Party—too, lost.

Rawat, the face of the Congress in Uttarakhand, used to speak about this election as the last opportunity to protect Uttarakhandiyat (the spirit of Uttarakhand). The migration of people from the hills in search of jobs was one of the main issues in the state.

The BJP had swept the 2017 polls winning 57 seats, but changed the chief minister thrice in the past one year. The Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act controversy, which angered priests as it allowed the government to take control of major temples, was one of the reasons for political turmoil. The mismanagement of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela and a Covid test scam during the congregation, too, provided opposition parties ammunition to attack the BJP.

But, the issues failed to influence voters as the BJP banked on developmental work including building more roads for better connectivity in far-flung areas, the Centre’s allocation of funds for infrastructure development and all-weather connectivity for the Char Dham Yatra.

The AAP, which made its electoral debut in the state, failed to win even a single seat. The party’s tactic of winning votes by offering freebies seems to have eaten into the Congress’s vote bank and helped the BJP.