BJP wins 5 mayoral seats, 34 chairman, president posts in Uttarakhand civic polls
Dehradun, Nov 20: The BJP has won five of the seven mayoral seats and 34 of the 84 chairman and president posts in the Uttarakhand civic polls, while Independents sprang a surprise by grabbing 23 posts.
The Congress won 25 of the chairman and president posts in the state's civic bodies and the BSP won one post, according to information released by the state election commission here Wednesday morning.
Results for one post is yet to be declared, it said.
The civic body poll was a high-stake battle for the ruling BJP that was looking to match its own impressive showing in the Uttarakhand elections last year when it had won 57 out of 70 assembly seats.
It was also significant for the Congress that has been struggling to stage a comeback after its defeat in the assembly polls.
The BJP won five of the seven mayoral seats, including Dehradun, Rishikesh, Kashipur, Rudrapur and Haldwani, while the Congress won Haridwar and Kotdwar, the commission said.
Voting was held for 84 urban local bodies, including seven municipal corporations, 39 municipal councils and 38 Nagar panchayats in Uttarakhand on Nov 18.
Counting for the polls began on Tuesday morning and went on till late in the afternoon Wednesday.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat termed the result "historic" and said the people had reposed their faith in the saffron party.
BJP's mayoral candidate for Dehradun, Sunil Uniyal Gama, who is said to be very close to the chief minister defeated his nearest rival Dinesh Aggarwal of the Congress by over 35000 votes.
Other victorious BJP mayoral candidates included Anita Mamgai (Rishikesh), Usha Chaudhry (Kashipur), Rampal Singh (Rudrapur) and Jogendra Rautela (Haldwani).
Congress's Anita Sharma won in Haridwar and Hemlata Negi Kotdwar.
Out of a total of 84 posts of municipal council chairmen and panchayat presidents, results of 83 have been declared. The BJP won 34, Congress 25, Independents 23 and BSP one posts.
Soon after winning the Dehradun mayoral seat, Gama drove to the chief minister's official residence to celebrate his victory with Rawat.
Rawat expressed his satisfaction at the results and termed them "encouraging" and "historic", but said the party will review the loss of some key seats, including Doiwala, his own constituency.
"Apparently it seems the equations went wrong in Doiwala. But we will definitely introspect and identify the factors which led to our defeat there," Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of the celebrations.
The chief minister said overall the results were an indication that the people had once again reposed confidence in the BJP.
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Vartha Bharati–Sankalp predictions align closely with Karnataka bypoll results
Bengaluru: The Vartha Bharati–Sankalp election analysis has shown a high level of accuracy in predicting the outcome of the recent Karnataka Assembly by-elections held in May 2026, correctly calling winners in both constituencies and closely estimating vote share trends.
The by-elections were held in Bagalkot and Davanagere South, drawing significant political attention as both seats were seen as key tests for the ruling Congress and opposition BJP.
According to the analysis, Vartha Bharati–Sankalp had made three major projections ahead of the results the winning party, vote share percentages, and margin of victory.
In both constituencies, the platform accurately predicted that the Congress would emerge victorious. The outcome matched the projections, with Congress candidates winning in Bagalkot and Davanagere South.
In terms of vote share, the predictions were largely in line with the final results. In Bagalkot, the BJP’s vote share was forecast in the range of 40 to 46 per cent, while the actual figure stood at 42.9 per cent. The Congress vote share, however, exceeded expectations, with the party securing 55.4 per cent against a projected range of 43 to 48 per cent.
The margin of victory in Bagalkot turned out to be significantly higher than anticipated. While the projection had placed the margin between 2,000 and 3,500 votes, the final margin was around 22,332 votes.
In Davanagere South, the predictions also remained largely accurate. The Congress vote share was projected between 43 and 51 per cent, and the final figure stood at 43.9 per cent. The BJP was expected to secure between 42 and 50 per cent but ended with 40.3 per cent.
The analysis had also identified the role of SDPI as a potential spoiler in the constituency. While its vote share was estimated around 6 per cent, the party eventually secured around 12 per cent of the vote.
The margin of victory in Davanagere South was predicted to be between 1,500 and 2,600 votes. The actual margin was higher at around 5,708 votes, though the contest remained relatively close as anticipated.
Overall, the performance of Vartha Bharati–Sankalp stood out for correctly identifying the winning parties in both seats and maintaining close accuracy in vote share estimates, with only limited deviations in specific cases.
