Wednesday, 11 May | PNS | Dehradun
The Congress party candidate Nirmala Gehtodi would file her nomination papers for the Assembly by-election from Champawat on Wednesday. During her nomination large number of Congress party leaders including the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara, the leader of opposition (LoP) in the state assembly Yashpal Arya, the in-charge of Uttarakhand Congress Devendra Yadav and former chief minister Harish Rawat are slated to remain present.
The PCC president Karan Mahara has constituted an election management committee for the Champawat by-poll. Former MLA Hemesh Kharkwal has been made the convenor of the committee while Almora MLA Manoj Tiwari would be the president of the committee. Khatima MLA Bhuwan Chandra Kapri and Lohaghat MLA Khushal Singh Adhikari would be the convenors of the committee.
Mahara said that the Vidhan Sabha area of Champawat would be divided into four sectors to ensure victory of the Congress candidate Nirmala Gehtodi. He said that the senior leaders of the party would work at the booth level to strengthen the prospects of the candidate from Champawat. Mahara claimed that the Champawat by poll would throw an unexpected result and the Congress candidate would emerge victorious with a record number of votes. The PCC president also requested the Congress members to reach Champawat in large numbers on the nomination day.
Nirmala Gehtodi would take on the challenge from the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who is the BJP candidate for the by-poll. Interestingly this would be the first election in which Hemesh Kharkwal would not be the Congress party’s candidate in Champawat. In all the five Assembly elections held so far after creation of Uttarakhand, Kharkwal was the Congress candidate in Champawat. This time also the Congress wanted Kharkwal to contest the elections but he showed no interest after which the party gave the ticket to Nirmala Gehtodi. The Congress has now handed over the command of the election campaigning to Kharkwal in Champawat.
In order to retain his position as CM of the state, Dhami must win the assembly by- election. The last date for filing the nomination papers is May 11 while the voting would be held on May 31. The counting of votes would be on June 3 and the result would be declared on the same day.
