 "Pushkar Singh Dhami")
The ruling BJP looked all set to secure a second consecutive term in office in Uttarakhand leading in 44 out of the total 70 seats, according to latest trends.
However, both Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Congress' Harish Rawat who led the campaigns of their respective parties in these assembly polls, were trailing on their respective seats of Khatima and Lalkuan.
While Dhami trails behind Congress's Bhuvan Chandra Kapri in Khatima by 2,287 votes, Harish Rawat was trailing behind BJP's Mohan Singh Bisht by 13,893 votes.
It will be clear later in the afternoon on what ultimately happens on these two seats.
However, if the trends are an indication of the outcome, then it is going to be difficult for both the parties to choose the next chief minister as Rawat and Dhami were billed to be the leading probables for the top office.
The Congress had not declared Rawat as its chief ministerial candidate. Dhami on other hand was almost the BJP's chief ministerial candidate as the party was seeking a full five-year-term for the "young and dynamic" leader to deliver on the party's grand vision for Uttarakhand's development.
However, the BJP appears on way to making history by winning two successive assembly elections in the state as it had never happened in its 21-year history.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
