Uttarakhand Assembly Election Results 2022 Explained: Congress effort is not enough

Although the Congress appeared to have ticked all the right boxes in terms of managing infighting within the party and making sound electoral promises, its dwindling presence at the national level may have worked against it in Uttarakhand.

BJP leaders Pralhad Joshi, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Kailash Vijayvargiya and others celebrate the party's win in Uttarakhand Assembly polls, in Dehradun, Thursday, March 10, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Issues that counted: The Congress election manifesto had promised to keep the price of LPG cylinders below Rs 500, jobs, monetary allowance to 5 lakh families, better health facilities, and 40% reservation for women in government jobs. Voters chose the BJP, whose promises about national security, Army welfare, and religious tourism apparently mattered more to them.

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Not enough by Congress: Although the Congress appeared to have ticked all the right boxes in terms of managing infighting within the party and making sound electoral promises, its dwindling presence at the national level may have worked against it in Uttarakhand. The defeat in a state where the Congress was the most hopeful has also put a question mark on its future overall.

National vs local: In Uttarakhand, the BJP has been able to break the perception that voting takes place on hyper-local issues. Also, the image of the BJP being a pro-Army party and one that can promote religious tourism appeared to have helped it in the state, which has high participation in the Indian Army, and is dependent on religious tourism.

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Question mark over Rawat: Following his defeat in 2017 in two different seats, and again from Lalkuan this year after a change of seats at the last moment, former chief minister Harish Rawat, now 73, may have a question mark hanging over his future. Rawat was spearheading the election campaign for the Congress.

Dhami’s defeat: While the BJP had announced incumbent Pushkar Singh Dhami as their CM face, his defeat from Khatima raises a question mark over his future too. The BJP, which has already been facing criticism for changing three CMs in the last five years, may well have to consider yet another new CM following its massive victory in the state.

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Why the BJP won Uttarakhand

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