There has also been a string of elections to face. First, he had to campaign and win the deferred Bazpur assembly segment poll. His next test was to enter the state assembly. This entailed winning over Lt Gen T.P.S. Rawat (retd), a former Congress minister, who had resigned from his Dhumakot assembly seat for him. After winning the Dhumakot assembly seat comfortably, Khanduri is now busy preparing for the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat by-election. To keep his promise to help Rawat enter the Lok Sabha from his earlier Pauri Garhwal seat, Khanduri has been electioneering hard, even though the Election Commission is yet to announce the date of polling.

BJP insiders argue that Khanduri is treading very cautiously, but his detractors claim that he has lost his way in his home state. The future will reveal which assessment proves to be the right one.