Dehradun (Uttarakhand): MLA Kailash Chandra Gahtori has quit the Champawat assembly seat and handed over his resignation letter to Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhusan, on Thursday morning, which was later accepted by her.
During the submission of his resignation letter to the speaker, Uttarakhand BJP president Madan Kaushik, state Cabinet ministers Chandan Ram Das, Saurabh Bahuguna, party's organizational secretary Ajay Kumar, MLA Khajan Das, and mayor Sunil Uniyal were present along with MLA Kailash Chandra Gahtori.
Earlier, MLA Kailash Chandra Gahtori had expressed his desire to vacate the seat for Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to contest the by-election. On Thursday, all speculations were put to rest with the handing of the resignation letter by Champavat MLA to the Uttarakhand Assembly speaker. On Wednesday evening, the party's organizational meeting took place during which it was officially announced that CM Pushkar Singh Dhami will contest by-polls from the Champawat seat.
As per caste arithmetic, the Champawat seat is conducive to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami. The assembly constituency has 54 percent Thakur vote, Dalit (18 percent), and Muslim (four percent). Besides, Dham's traditional Khatima seat is close to Champawat. The Uttarakhand chief minister is familiar with the region and its caste equation. Hence, this seat is considered to be safe for CM Pushkar Singh Dhami.
