The BJP, which was one short of majority in the 69-member House, got the much-needed number when its candidate Sher Singh Garhia won by a margin of 7,167 votes in the by-poll. The BJP now has 35 members in the House. Garhia defeated NCP’s Kunti Parihar, pushing Congress candidate Chamu Singh Gasyal to the third spot. BJP’s victory came a fortnight after the Congress bagged all the five Lok Sabha seats in the state. The Kapkot Assembly seat fell vacant when former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari was elected to the Rajya Sabha last year after he led a rebellion against Chief Minister B C Khanduri.
Thereafter, the growing differences between the Khanduri and Koshiyari camps is believed to have led to BJP’s defeat in the recent Lok Sabha poll. However, on the advice of the party high command, both Koshiyari and Khanduri this time campaigned together for Kapkot against the resurgent Congress. While the BJP has 35 members in the House, the Congress has 20 and the BSP has eight members. The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, which is supporting the government, has three members. Besides there are three independents, two of them are supporting the government.
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