Elections in Uttarakhand

The legislative assembly of Uttarakhand creates laws regarding the conduct of local body elections unilaterally while any changes by the state legislature to the conduct of state level elections need to be approved by the Parliament of India.

In addition, the state legislature may be dismissed by the Parliament according to Article 356 of the Indian Constitution and President's rule may be imposed.

Gangotri is considered a bellwether seat as it has voted for the winning party/alliance in every election since the state's formation.

However, this myth was broken in 2022, when the BJP formed the government while winning from both Ranikhet and Purola.

It is also believed that every incubment chief minister loses their seat in the next election.

Veteran Congress leader N. D. Tiwari was chosen as the new Chief Minister despite him not being a member of the legislative assembly.

Khanduri resigned due to the BJP's dismal performance in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from the state.

Uttarakhand had turned out incumbent governments in the first two elections held in the state since its formation.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party fought the election under the leadership of its Chief Minister B. C. Khanduri.

The main opposition Indian National Congress was led in the assembly by Harak Singh Rawat, but no chief ministerial candidate was named before the elections.

The interim tenure of former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, which was marked by large-scale corruption accusations, was likely to be the main election issue.

Vijay Bahuguna was appointed as Chief minister despite him not being a member of the legislative assembly.

In 2016, a brief period of President's rule was imposed in the state after 9 Congress mla's including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna and former minister Harak Singh Rawat, switched over to the BJP.

The Bharatiya Janata Party riding on the popularity[citation needed] of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, secured a record landslide victory, winning 57 of the total 70 seats.

It was the first time in the history of Uttarakhand when the ruling party came back to power in the state winning back-to-back assembly elections, although the incumbent Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lost his seat.

Dhami was later elected from a bypoll in Champawat and was re-elected as the chief minister.

Independent candidates have been dominant in these elections while the BJP performs well in the urban local bodies.