Congress leader and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has lost in his Lalkuan constituency by a big margin. Rawat was behind BJP rival candidate Mohan Singh Bisht by over 16,000 votes, according to EC data at 2pm.
The 72-year-old Congress stalwart has served as chief minister of Uttarakhand from 2014 to 2017. Rawat, who was confident of victory when counting began on Thursday morning, had said the Congress would win majority. “I have faith in the people of the state. I believe Congress will get close to 48 seats,” he had said.
However, Harish Rawat’s daughter Anupama Rawat is leading by over 5,000 votes in Haridwar Rural.
The ruling BJP secured a comfortable lead in Uttarakhand with its candidates ahead in 46 assembly seats while the main opposition Congress was leading in 21 seats. The BJP is all set for a second consecutive term in office this time, something which has never happened in the state's 21-year history.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial face Ajay Kothiyal is also trailing from the Gangotri seat.