The ruling BJP was ahead of the Congress in Uttarakhand with its party candidates leading in 33 seats on Thursday, according to early trends available. According to data available on the Election Commission website at 10:20 AM am for 56 seats, the Congress was ahead in 18 seats, the BSP in two seats, the Uttarakhand Janekta party and independent in one each.

Prominent candidates trailing in their respective seats include Congress veteran Harish Rawat, who was trailing behind Mohan Singh Bisht of the BJP by 2,713 votes in Lalkuan and Subodh Uniyal of the BJP trailing behind Om Gopal Rawat of the Congress in Narendra Nagar. Yashpal Arya, who had returned to the Congress from the BJP ahead of the polls, was also trailing behind BJP's Rajesh Kumar in Bajpur by 18587 votes.

Pritam Singh of the Congress was leading in Chakrata by 1805 votes against Ramsharan Nautiyal of the BJP.

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| Uttarakhand exit polls predict neck and neck fight between BJP and Congress

Counting of votes for the 70 assembly seats in Uttarakhand began on Thursday amid tight security arrangements. The polling was held in the state on February 14 with more than 65 percent of the electorate casting their votes.

The ruling BJP is seeking a second consecutive term in office this time -- something which has never happened in the state's 21-year history. Routed in the 2017 assembly polls with a tally of 11 seats against the BJP's 57, the Congress is trying to stage a comeback.

Several political heavyweights are among a total of 632 candidates awaiting what electronic voting machines (EVMs) hold in store for them. Prominent among them are Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, his cabinet colleagues Satpal Maharaj, Bansidhar Bhagat, Subodh Uniyal, Arvind Pandey, Dhan Singh Rawat and Rekha Arya, besides state BJP president Madan Kaushik.

Important Congress leaders whose fate will be decided include former chief minister Harish Rawat, former minister Yashpal Arya, state Congress president Ganesh Godiyal and Leader of Opposition in the fourth assembly Pritam Singh.

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First Published:Mar 10, 2022 8:43 AM IST