Uttarakhand CM Dhami thanks people of Champawat after winning bypoll

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday thanked the people of Champawat for supporting him after he won the crucial Champawat bypoll.

"I thank the people of Champawat for this big win. This is the victory of Champawat. I will try to return the people's blessing through development works," Dhami told media persons.

Dhami has won the Champawat bypoll by a margin of over 55,000 votes. This was a much-needed victory for Dhami to continue to remain as the chief minister as he had lost the state Assembly polls held earlier this year despite the BJP's landslide victory.

Congratulations poured in for Dhami from his party leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the poll victory.

PM Modi expressed confidence that the Uttarakhand CM will work harder for the progress of the hilly state.

"Congratulations to Uttarakhand's dynamic CM @pushkardhami for the record win from Champawat. I am confident he will work even harder for the progress of Uttarakhand. I thank the people of Champawat for placing their faith in BJP and laud our Karyakartas for their hard work," PM Modi tweeted.

Uttarakhand BJP president Madan Kaushik also congratulated Dhami on the win.

"Hearty congratulations and best wishes to the Honorable Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Dhamiji on winning the Champawat by-election with huge votes," he said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who campaigned for Dhami ahead of the polling and held a roadshow with him in Tanakpur in the Champawat district, also congratulated Dhami for the "historic" victory.

Adityanath said that this victory is dedicated to the people's welfare policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dhami's leadership and the hard work of BJP workers.

"Hearty congratulations to the successful Chief Minister of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand, Shri Pushkar Dhami ji for winning the historic victory in the Champawat Vidhan Sabha by-election. This victory is dedicated to the people's welfare policies of the respected Prime Minister, your developmental leadership and the hard work of BJP workers," said Adityanath, who also hails from Uttarakhand, in a tweet.

Dhami secured 58,258 votes against Congress candidate Nirmala Gahatodi who grabbed only 3,233 votes. Apart from Dhami and Congress' Gahatodi, Manoj Kumar Bhatt from Samajwadi Party and Independent candidate Himanshu Gadkoti were also in the fray. The polling took place on May 31 and votes were counted today.

Dhami, who had lost the Khatima seat in the State Assembly polls, contested from Champawat to become an MLA. According to the Constitution, he needs to fulfil this requirement within six months of being sworn in to continue as the chief minister.

Dhami lost the Khatima constituency to candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by a margin of 6,579 votes. Later, BJP MLA Kailash Gehtori resigned from the Champawat assembly seat to pave the way for Dhami to contest by-polls.