Dehradun, Mar 10 (PTI) The BJP was ahead of the Congress in Uttarakhand with its party candidates leading in 26 seats on Thursday, according to early trends available.
According to data available on the Election Commission website at 10:10 AM am for 48 seats, the Congress was ahead in 18 seats, BSP in two seats, the Uttarakhand Janekta party and independent in one each.
The polling was held in the state on February 14 with more than 65 per cent of the electorate casting their votes.
The ruling BJP is seeking a second consecutive term in office this time, something which has never happened in the state's 21-year history.
Routed in the 2017 assembly polls with a tally of 11 seats against the BJP's 57, the Congress is trying to stage a comeback.
Prominent candidates who contested the polls are Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, his cabinet colleagues Satpal Maharaj, Bansidhar Bhagat, Subodh Uniyal, Arvind Pandey, Dhan Singh Rawat and Rekha Arya, besides state BJP president Madan Kaushik.
Important Congress leaders whose fate will be decided include former chief minister Harish Rawat, former minister Yashpal Arya, state Congress president Ganesh Godiyal and Leader of Opposition in the fourth assembly Pritam Singh.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)