By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 9 May: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami filed his nomination for the Champawat by-election today. During the filing of nomination, a large number of his supporters and senior BJP leaders were also present. Shyam Pandey proposed Dhami’s nomination. Former MLA Kailash Gehtodi, who vacated the seat in order to enable the CM to contest the bypoll, was also present during the nomination process.
Before the nomination, the CM along with his wife performed puja at Chakarpur Bankhandi Mahadev Shiva temple in the morning.
This was followed by a road show and, during this, several BJP MLAs and senior BJP leaders including BJP State President Madan Kaushik, Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, Almora MP Ajay Tamta, Cabinet Ministers Chandan Ram Das, Saurabh Bahuguna and Rekha Arya were also present.
CM Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Champawat this morning. Following the puja at the Mahadev temple, he participated in his first road show in Tanakpur-Banbasa. All along the route, supporters and common people were lined up to welcome him. The CM After doing a several hours long roadshow, CM reached Champawat tehsil and filed his nomination. As soon as he filed his nomination, his supporters raised slogans in his support.
The CM appeared to be surprised and overwhelmed by the huge crowd presence during the road show and during the public meeting. Addressing the gathering, Dhami said that Champawat would become a connecting hub in Kumaon between the hill areas of Pithoragarh and the plains of Kumaon. He said that although he was contesting an election from Champawat for the first time, he had many memories of the place. When his family used to travel from Didihat to Khatima, they used to pass through Champawat and his mother was particularly fond of the place and its people. He said that the outgoing MLA, Kailash Gehtodi, had proved how generous and nice were the people of Champawat and promised that he would leave no stone unturned for its development.
While addressing the public meeting, CM Dhami said that Champawat was the land of Guru Gorakhnath. He reminded that UP CM Yogi Adityanath, during his Uttarakhand tour, had said that he would reach Champawat to visit Guru Gorakhnath. He added that the Goljyu Circuit would be developed. Dhami stressed that the love and blessings he had received from the public were unprecedented and expressed confidence that the people of Champawat would continue to bless him with love in the future, too. The CM said that the state government is taking important decisions in the interest of the people. Every effort is being made to ensure that the public benefits.
CM Dhami promised development to the people of Champawat. He also addressed the gathering in Kumaoni dialect for a while. He said that he would stand by the people of Champawat in moments of sorrow as well as joy. He affirmed that everything was in the hands of the people and he was confident that they would ensure a historic win for the BJP once again.
BJP’s leader in charge of party affairs in Uttarakhand Dushyant Gautam was also present at the public meeting.
It may be recalled that winning the by-poll is crucial for the CM in order to continue as CM beyond a period of six months and for a tenure of 5 years. Before him, ND Tiwari, BC Khanduri, Vijay Bahuguna and Harish Rawat too had to contest bypolls, while Tirath Singh Rawat did not get the opportunity to contest as he had to make way for Dhami last year after being the CM just for 4 months.
Tiwari had won the bypoll from Ramnagar, BC Khanduri from Dhoomkot, Vijay Bahuguna from Sitarganj and Harish Rawat from Dharchula. So far, there is no precedent of any CM losing a by-poll in Uttarakhand and that gives a strong edge to Dhami, where his main opponent will be Nirmala Gahatodi of the Congress. She has been given the ticket for the first time. She was made the candidate when last time Congress candidate and two time former MLA Hemesh Kharkwal refused to contest.
