NEW DELHI: One state that hasn't thrown up a decisive verdict in the Assembly Elections 2012 verdict is Uttarakhand - the Congress and the BJP are running neck to neck in the state. One of them needs to cross the halfway mark of 35 in order to form the government.
The general almost won the war but lost the battle in a nail biting finish in Uttarakhand. The Congress pips BJP by just one seat in the 70 member house and that one seat could have made all the difference with Chief Minister BC Khanduri losing by a fair margin from Kotdwar amid reports of sabotage from within.
It's a hung assembly in Uttarakhand but the Congress being the single largest party has an edge.
Three independents, Mantri Prasad Netani, Dinesh Dhanai, and Harish Durgapal are the Congress rebels who the party will try and woo. Three seats of BSP and one of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal are also being eyed.
The Congress legislature party is set to meet on Wednesday evening but keeping with the Congress tradition it's the party President Sonia Gandhi who will perhaps pick the Chief Minister candidate after meeting leaders on Wednesday but state Congress Chief Yashpal Arya and Union Minister Harish Rawat are top contenders for the post.
The BJP meanwhile is flummoxed, the party has done well on the slogan "Khanduri hai zaruri" but has no answer to why the honest army man got a thrashing, losing by 4,600 votes. Former chief minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank role in Khanduri's defeat is being closely looked into by the leadership.
The yamuna colony's tryst being Chief Minister's residence has ended in four months. Khanduri has won seats for the BJP but is it enough to help the party form a government or will the Congress win this photo finish? Or has Uttarakhand thrown up the classic case for President's rule?