Uttarakhand polls: BJP's Bisht, Cong's Kapri emerge as giant-killers

Not much was known about Mohan Singh Bisht, a humble Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Halduchaur area in Nainital district, until he defeated Congress campaign head and former chief minister Harish Rawat from Lalkuwa on Thursday.

Before forcing arguably the tallest Congress leader from Uttarakhand to bite the dust in the polls to make his maiden entry into the state assembly, Bisht had only won a zila panchayat poll in 2019.

However, being a local he enjoyed a connect with people at the grassroots and used Rawat's tag of being an outsider to his advantage.

The party's last minute decision to change Rawat's seat from Ramnagar to Lalkuwa is also believed to have spoiled his chances.

Sandhya Dalakoti who had earlier been fielded by the Congress from Lalkuwa rebelled against the party and entered the fray as an independent.

Another major giant-killer was state Congress working president Bhuvan Chandra Kapri who defeated Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami from Khatima by 6,579 votes.

Dhami had won from the seat in the last two consecutive polls. Dhami faced Kapri for a second time in the seat after 2017 when he had defeated him by 2,709 votes.

Harish Rawat's daughter Anupama Rawat was the surprise winner from Haridwar rural where she defeated cabinet minister Yatishwaranand by 4,472 votes.

By defeating him, she also avenged her father's loss from the seat to Yatishwaranand in 2017 assembly elections.

Her victory from the seat is creditable as she was a poll debutante pitted against an experienced opponent.

Rawat had contested from Haridwar rural and Kichcha seats in 2017 and lost from both.

BJP veteran Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri's daughter Ritu Khanduri Bhushan also upset former minister Surendra Singh Negi by 3,687 votes in Kotdwar.

Negi had defeated her father in 2012 assembly polls.

Another giant killer was Mohan Singh of the BJP who defeated his political mentor, Congress veteran and former Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, in Jageshwar by 5,883 votes.

Singh was once a close associate of Kunjwal but later joined the BJP. Kunjwal had been winning from Jageshwar since 2002.