Uttarakhand's next Assembly election is still scheduled for 2027, yet the political temperature is already rising. At the centre of it is Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, whose three day tour of the Khatima Assembly constituency has set off fresh debate across the state. During the visit, several BJP leaders openly urged the Chief Minister, from a string of different platforms, to fight the 2027 election from Khatima itself.
Why the seat question has resurfaced
Dhami made no firm political announcement in response to these appeals, but his posture and renewed presence have set tongues wagging in political circles. The buzz is that he may return to his old bastion of Khatima in the coming election rather than stand again from Champawat. His revived activity in Khatima has become the single biggest basis for this speculation.
Dhami's long ties with Khatima
Khatima is the ground where the Chief Minister's political journey began. He was first elected MLA from the seat in 2012 and won it again in 2017 to return to the Assembly. Just before the 2022 election, the party handed him charge of the state, after which his presence in the constituency dropped somewhat because of official duties.
Political observers believe it was precisely this reduced engagement, combined with factionalism among local BJP leaders, that together played a major role in his 2022 defeat in Khatima. Even after losing the seat, however, the party leadership kept its faith in him and once again made him Chief Minister. Dhami then went on to win a by-election from the Champawat Assembly seat, holding on to his post and creating a new record in the process.
A three day visit that turned up the heat
The Chief Minister recently arrived in Khatima for a three day tour, taking part in numerous government functions, party events and non-political programmes. From these very stages, several senior BJP leaders publicly repeated their plea for him to contest from Khatima in 2027. On the second day of the tour, Dhami also held a road show in Khatima, the echoes of which are being felt in political corridors all the way from Khatima to Dehradun.
The invitation and Dhami's emotional reply
During the visit, Zila Panchayat president Ajay Maurya, along with many other BJP leaders, formally invited the Chief Minister to enter the fray from Khatima in the 2027 election. Responding with visible emotion, Dhami said that Khatima was not merely an Assembly constituency for him but a place that lived in his heart. Following this remark and the steady stream of appeals, the question has only grown louder: will Dhami leave Champawat and contest from Khatima in 2027?
