All eyes are on the battle for the hill state of Uttarakhand, which is set to go to polls in a single phase on February 14

While the ruling BJP is contesting the polls under the leadership of young chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the opposition Congress is pinning its hopes on the veteran leader and former chief minister Harish Rawat, the party's chief election strategist.

Though the Aam Aadmi Party has also entered the battlefield this election, the biggest question is will the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) be able to buck the trend and return to power for a second consecutive term? Let's look at some of the key assemblies in the hill state.   Uttarakhand Assembly Elections 2022: A Look Back at The Polling, Alliances And Results of 2017 Election Ahead of State Vidhan Sabha Polls

Kichha, which comes under Nainital-udhamsingh Nagar Lok sabha constituency. It comes under Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand State. In 2017, Rajesh Shukla of Bharatiya Janata Party won the seat by defeating Harish Rawat from Congress with a margin of 2127 votes.

It must be noted that in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Ajay Bhatt won from Nainital-udhamsingh Nagar Lok Sabha (MP) Seat with the margin of 339096 votes by defeating Harish Rawat from Indian National Congress.

Khatima is one of the seventy electoral assembly constituencies of Uttarakhand. It includes Khatima area of Udham Singh Nagar district and comes under Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar (Lok Sabha constituency). In 2017, Pushkar Singh Dhami of Bharatiya Janata Party won this seat by defeating Bhuwan Chandra Kapri from Indian National Congress with a margin of 2709 votes.

In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP candidate Ajay Bhatt won from Nainital-udhamsingh Nagar Lok Sabha (MP) Seat with the margin of 339096 votes by defeating Harish Rawat from Indian National Congress.  Uttarakhand Assembly Elections 2022: Total of 755 Candidates Have Filed Nominations for 70 Seats

Interestingly, Dhami has been winning the seat since the 2012 assembly elections when he had defeated Devendra Chand of the Congress by more than 5000 votes. Dhami also faces the challenge of breaking the trend of incumbent chief ministers losing at the polls in Uttarakhand.

The Lalkuan assembly seat of Uttarakhand has also become a hot seat like Khatima, because former Chief Minister Harish Rawat is in the electoral fray from this seat, in front of him BJP has given ticket to Mohan Bisht. BJP has expressed confidence in Mohan Bisht by cutting the ticket of sitting MLA Naveen Dumka. Since then, the Lal Kuan assembly seat has become the second hot seat of Uttarakhand. There is a tough fight between BJP and Congress in this seat.

Lalkuan seat comes in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand. Which came into existence after the delimitation of 2008. After which the assembly elections were held for the first time in 2012, in which independent candidate Harish Chandra Durgapal had won. In the 2017 assembly elections, Naveen Dumka of BJP defeated Harish Chandra Durgapal of Congress. This time, whom the people of Lal Kuan assembly constituency will choose as MLA, it is for the public to decide on February 14. With the entry of Harish Rawat in the field, the contest on this seat has become very interesting. Along with this, Aam Aadmi Party and BSP are also standing in the field.

Chaubattakhal is a major assembly seat in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. Chaubattakhal is in Pauri district and it comes under Garhwal Loksabha Constituency. Tirath Singh Rawat, former MLA of Chaubattakhal from Garhwal region, is currently a Member of Parliament and in the 2019 Lok Sabha he defeated Manish Khanduri of Congress by more than 3 lakh votes. There are a total of 70 seats in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, out of which 41 come in the Garhwal region and 29 in the Kumaon region.

Satpal Maharaj, the heavyweight leader of Uttarakhand from is the current MLA from the seat and has ministries like irrigation and tourism in the state government. After the delimitation, the Bharatiya Janata Party has got success in both the last assembly elections from Chaubattakhal seat formed in the year 2012.

Kaladhungi Assembly seat of Nainital district can see an interesting fight between cabinet minister Bansidhar Bhagat and His son Vikas Bhagat.

Banshidhar Bhagat is veteran politician of Uttarakhand. He has become an MLA for 7 times from Uttar Pradesh to Uttarakhand. He has also been a minister of the UP government. At present, he is the Urban Development Minister of Uttarakhand. Banshidhar Bhagat is an old BJP worker. It will be interesting to see if he can continue his winning formula from this seat.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 02, 2022 08:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).