It is important for cabinet minister Bishan Singh Chupal to remain in Didihat seat of Pithoragarh district. Chupal, who is seeking a sixth straight term from Didihat, is facing a strong anti-incumbency wave, which could come in his way for the BJP to retain Didihat.
In the 2017 assembly election, Chupal won the election by a narrow margin against an independent candidate, while the Congress came third. However, this time Congress is expected to win this seat. Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat claimed that Congress will break the illusion with a victory in Didihat.
In Pithoragarh seat, Congress seems to be getting an edge over sitting BJP MLA Chandra Pant. Congress candidate Mayukh Mahar was leading over his nearest BJP rival in the initial round of counting of postal ballots.
Chandra Pant is the wife of the late Prakash Pant, who was a prominent minister in the BJP government. Chandra Pant won the by-election after her husband died of cancer.
There are four assembly seats in the district- Pithoragarh, Didihat, Dharchula and Gangolihat. In the 2017 elections, the BJP had won three out of four seats. Interestingly, no party has won for a straight term here. This is the reason why Congress is expected to win the Pithoragarh seat.
Similarly, Dharchula seat remained a strong fort for the Congress. Congress MLA from Dharchula Harish Dhami is once again contesting the elections. There are speculations that the Congress has better chances of winning this seat.
In the reserved seat of Gangolihat (SC), there is a direct fight between Congress candidate Khajan Guddu and BJP’s Fakir Ram. In this seat, the Congress suffered a major setback after one of its senior leaders and former MLA Narayan Ram Arya joined the BJP a few days before the election. Congress insiders believe that this could hurt the party’s prospects.
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