Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami wins crucial Champawat bypoll by a margin of 55,025 votes

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday won the bypoll to the Champawat Assembly seat by more than 55,025 votes and bagged a whopping 92 per cent of the votes polled.

He defeated his nearest rival Nirmala Gahtori of the Congress.

While Dhami, who was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the state, bagged a whopping 92.94 per cent or 58,258 of the 62,683 votes polled, Nirmala got just 3,233.

Samajwadi Party's Manoj Bhatt got 409 and independent candidate Himanshu Garkoti 399 while NOTA polled 372.

Dhami was chosen as Chief Minister this time despite he lost from Khatima in the Uttarakhand assembly polls held in February.

As per the Constitutional requirement, Dhami had to become a member of the State Assembly within six months of being sworn in as the Chief Minister.

Immediately after the results were announced, Modi congratulated Dhami and expressed confidence that he will now work even harder for the state's progress.

"Congratulations to Uttarakhand's dynamic CM Pushkar Singh Dhami 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," Modi said.