Khanduri thanks Dhumakot people; BJP celebrates victory

Dehra Dun, Sep 2 (UNI) Having won the Dhumakot Assembly bypoll today, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj Gen (Retd) B C Khanduri thanked party workers and the people for giving their clear mandate in his favour.

In a brief interaction with party workers at Dhumakot after the declaration of poll result, he said it would be his priority to carry out overall development of the constituency as he had promised earlier. He hastily left for New Delhi for an important meeting thereafter.

With the victory of Maj Gen Khanduri, the number of BJP legislators in the state has gone up to 36 in the 70-member Assembly excluding one nominated member. Congress was reduced to 20 members after the resignation of its MLA from Dhumakot Lt Gen (Retd) Tej Pal Singh Rawat who joined the BJP. Bahujan Samaj Party has eight members, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal three besides three Independents.

UKD and Independents are supporting the Khanduri government in the state.

Meanwhile, it was celebration time for the BJP at the party office here following Maj Gen Khanduri's victory. The elated party workers celebrated the occasion by bursting crackers and distributing sweets at the party office. Workers, including senior leaders, party MLAs and women members were seen dancing to the beating of drums.

State party president Bhagat Singh Koshyari said the result was obvious, the Congress had already accepted the defeat and the bypoll was merely a formality.

He asserted that now Congress as the main opposition party in the State Assembly ought to allow the government to run peacefully for the overall development of the state.

Meanwhile, Congress State General Secretary Dhirendra Pratap said that the choice of party candidate was wrong. The candidate Surendra Singh Negi being an outsider, it was not in tune with the wishes of the local people of Dhumakot. He said the electorate had given its clear mandate in Gen Khanduri's favour.

He hoped that Chief Minister would take Dhumakot, which is otherwise one of the backward constituencies in Uttarakhand, to the heights of progress and prosperity.

UNI