Uttarakhand: Harish Rawat predicts Congress win, party flags postal ballot issue

"Exit poll is an exit poll. We know about people's emotions, and they have voted for Congress. The decision will be in favour of Congress," Rawat told reporters in Dehradun on Tuesday.

Dehradun (Uttarakhand): Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday said Congress will win the Uttarakhand Assembly elections 2022 even though most exit polls suggest BJP may have the advantage.

"Exit poll is an exit poll. We know about people's emotions, and they have voted for Congress. The decision will be in favour of Congress," Rawat told reporters in Dehradun on Tuesday. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that Congress leaders "can blow the trumpet for a few days since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would again be forming the government in the state". Dhami slammed the Congress leaders for rejecting the predictions made by the exit polls.

"Congress was nowhere in the contest in the elections. They had no issues to raise before the people. Now that the elections are over they can blow the trumpet till the results are out since the BJP will be celebrating victory on March 10," Dhami told the media on Tuesday.

The exit polls on Monday predicted a close race in Uttarakhand, with many of them giving an edge to the BJP to form the government. Some exit polls also predicted that Congress would finish ahead and could cross the halfway mark in the 70-member Assembly. Polling in Uttrakhand took place on February 14 and the counting of votes will take place on March 10.

Meanwhile, Congress on Tuesday said that if the Election Commission did not take cognizance of irregularities in voting through postal ballots, the party will consider approaching the court.

Congress' complaint largely has been that votes of many retired armed forces personnel, in various areas of Uttarakhand, have been sent through postal ballot, an option to be used only when the voter is posted on government duty away from his or her constituency. It alleged that postal ballots under names of deceased ex-servicemen have also been sent for count.

"Those who have retired, those who have died - their names are also on the current electoral list. There's also the case of duplication. The list should be revised, because if it stays this way, approaching the court is an option that might have to be explored", Congress leader Rajendra Bhandari said.

With agency inputs