Uttarakhand: 5/5 for BJP, Modi factor tilts scale in hill state

, May 16: The saffron wave swept

with

on Friday winning all five Lok Sabha seats, snatching four of them from the ruling

with wide victory margins.

All former BJP chief Ministers Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank besides erstwhile Tehri Royal Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah and Ajay Tamta emphatically defeated their rivals, handing a rout to the Congress which had won all the five seats in 2009 general elections.

However, Congress had lost Tehri seat to BJP in 2012 bypoll. Chief Minister Harish Rawat took responsibility for the Congress's poor showing.

"I accept my responsibility for the party's poor performance at the hustings," he told reporters but chose to remain quiet when asked whether he would resign.

BJP put up an impressive show in Uttarakhand riding on the crest of Modi wave and also befitted by putting up strong candidates such as Khanduri and Koshiyari.

BJP heavyweight Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri won the Pauri-Garhwal seat defeating Congress' Harak Singh Rawat by 1,84526 votes.

Of all BJP candidates, former CM Koshiyari won the Nainital seat with the widest margin defeating sitting Congress MP from the seat K C Singh Baba by 2.84 lakh votes to make his maiden entry into the Lok Sabha.

Former BJP chief minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank clinched the high profile Haridwar seat defeating Chief Minister Harish Rawat's wife Renuka by 1.51 lakh votes.

Daughter-in-law of erstwhile Tehri royal family Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah meanwhile retained the seat defeating former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna's son Saket by 1.90 lakh votes for a second time.

She had defeated Saket from the seat in 2012 bypoll by over 20000 votes. BJP's Ajay Tamta upset Congress' sitting MP from Almora Pradeep Tamta defeating him by 95878 votes from the seat.

Congress finished second in all the seats where it was locked in a straight contest with the BJP.

PTI