Uttarakhand: Will Dhami Retain His Chair?
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
By Linus Garg
First publised on 2022-03-07 16:59:39
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
The Uttarakhand exit polls have thrown up a surprise. Despite reports from the ground that the going was tough for the BJP and that there was an anti-incumbency wave in the state, most polls are showing that the party is ahead and will form the government although the fight is neck-to-neck. Although one or two polls are still projecting a hung assembly, the trend in other polls is clearly in favour of the BJP.
All indications up to polling day were that the Congress was giving a tough fight to the BJP and that there would be hung assembly with both parties winning between 30 and 35 seats in a house of 70. But most exit polls show that the BJP is likely to win between 36 and 46 seats and the Congress just 25 to 32.The poll of polls shows the BJP getting 37 seats while the Congress is likely to finish with just 29. This means that despite the anti-incumbency wave, the Congress was not able to run an effective campaign to convert the people's anger into votes for it.
The BJP had faced a lot of problems in the state. It had to change chief ministers twice in a span of four months. That was a clear pointer that all was not well in the state unit and factionalism was rearing its ugly head. A divided party was unlikely to get the better of anti-incumbency. But it seems that Pushkar Singh Dhami has mended fences with his rivals and has run a good administration in the last eight months to win back the confidence of the people.
It has also helped the BJP that the Congress is a divided house in the state. The senior-most leader Harish Rawat is miffed that the party did not project him as the chief ministerial candidate before the polls. Other state leaders fancy their chances if the party gets a majority and have hence tried to prevent Rawat's muscling-in. But this has perhaps taken something away from the Congress' campaign and the party has not been able to perform as expected.
