Pushkar Singh Dhami likely to contest by-elections from Champawat seat

The speculations over Dhami contesting from the Champawat seat are based on the potentially favorable caste equation in the region that might pave the way for Dhami to secure an easy win. With about 54 percent Thakur voters, 24 percent Brahmins, 18 percent Dalits, and four percent Muslim voters, Dhami -- a member of the Thakur community himself -- is touted to be a safe seat.

Dehradun: BJP state president Madan Kaushik on Wednesday, indicated that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will contest the upcoming by-elections in the state from the Champawat assembly seat. He further clarified that the current sitting Champawat MLA Kailash Gahatodi will submit his resignation voluntarily to the Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri by Thursday.

This unofficial announcement was made during a meeting with the reporters on Wednesday, wherein Kaushik also indicated that an official announcement in this regard may come after a meeting of the BJP state organization scheduled this evening. Besides, he also said that in a recent organization-level meeting, the party leaders discussed by-election prospects, while many MLAs had nominated the CM's name to contest from the Champavat Assembly.

The speculations over Dhami contesting from the Champawat seat are based on the potentially favorable caste equation in the region that might pave the way for Dhami to secure an easy win. With about 54 percent Thakur voters, 24 percent Brahmins, 18 percent Dalits, and four percent Muslim voters, Dhami -- a member of the Thakur community himself -- is touted to be a safe seat.

Moreover, since Champawat is geographically adjacent to Dhami's traditional Khatima seat, he is also assumed to be fairly familiar with the political, caste, and regional equations here.