Dehradun: Polling for the by-election to the Champawat assembly seat in Uttarakhand to decide the fate of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recorded a voter turnout of more than 45 per cent till 1 pm on Tuesday. Voting began at 7 am and will go on till 5 pm.
By 1 pm, 45.49 per cent of voters have cast their votes, Champawat District Magistrate Narendra Singh Bhandari told PTI. Dhami who lost from Khatima in the state assembly polls held in February is trying his luck from Champawat to become an MLA a constitutional requirement he needs to fulfil within six months of being sworn in as chief minister. Former BJP MLA Kailash Gehtori had resigned from the Champawat seat last month to make way for Dhami to contest from the seat. Dhami is locked in a straight contest with Congress' Nirmala Gehtori in the seat located in Kumaon region of the state. The chief minister campaigned aggressively in Champawat along with Kailash Gehtori after filing his nominations on May 9 to seek votes by asking people to give him an opportunity to serve them. BJP star campaigner and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also campaigned for Dhami in Tanakpur.
There are 96,213 voters in the Champawat constituency.—PTI
