ABSTRACT
The Uttarakhand paper refers to three factors that explained the BJP sweeping the hill state just like the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. First, the Congress was weakened by large-scale defections and the challenge from within as disappointed ticket seekers from the party contested as independents taking away the Congress vote. The party also failed to withstand the onslaught of a Modi wave. Second, Harish Rawat, the former Chief Minister and the lone Congress leader having state-wide support base failed to build a second line of leadership to take the Uttarakhand Congress forward. Rawat had faced corruption charges as the chief minister of the state and this weakened his ability to mobilise the masses. The defection of the other popular leader Vijay Bahuguna, the former chief minister, to the BJP also weakened the party. Third, the lack of effective governance when the Congress was in power was also a strong factor that explained the popular lack of faith in the party.
