The BJP is heading for a clean sweep in Uttarakhand for the third consecutive time with victory margins of its candidates in all five Lok Sabha seats crossing the 1.5-lakh mark polling 56.7 per cent votes.

Union Minister Ajay Bhatt was leading in the Nainital parliamentary seat with 3.24 lakh votes while Ajay Tamta won Almora by more than two lakh votes even as the result was yet to be announced.

Among other BJP candidates leading over their Congress rivals were sitting MP and Tehir Lok Sabha seat nominee Mala Rajyalaxmi Shah, who had increased her lead to 2.56 lakh till 3.00 pm, and former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who was ahead of his rival Congress nominee Virendra Rawat, son of another former CM Harish Rawat, by nearly 1.35 lakh votes.

In Pauri Garhwal, BJP national media in-charge Anil Baluni, a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah, was leading with more than 1.5 lakh votes.

As the counting was heading for its last leg, the saffron party was leading in all five seats bagging 56.7 per cent votes. The ruling party’s voter share, however, reduced by almost two per cent from 59.7 per cent in the morning when counting started at 8 am in the morning.

On the other hand, the Congress party’s vote share increased by the same number from 31 per cent in the morning to 33 Per cent by 3 pm. The BSP got 1.82 per cent vote share while 7.38 per cent votes went to the others and the NOTA (none of the above) received 1.1 per cent votes.

Meanwhile, although the final result of the Almora constituency was yet to be announced, the counting ended with Ajay Tamta leading over his Congres counterpart Pradeep Tamta by 2.24 lakh votes.

In his reaction to the 2024 election results trends, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said Narendra Modi would form the government at the Centre for the third time. “People of India have once again given an opportunity to the BJP to form a government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

“Whatever responsibilities were given to us by the PM we took them to every nook and corner of Uttarakhand. Now, the prime minister will form the government for the third time in a row and take the nation forward on the development path,” he added.