Pushkar Singh Dhami has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Uttrakhand after incumbent CM Tirath Singh Rawat resigned from the post earlier today.
According to the reports, the Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs proposed Pushkar Singh Dhami’s name in the legislature party meeting held in Dehradun on Saturday.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1411265523988373504?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwDhami, who is considered close to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, was declared as the next CM of the state today after the 57 Uttarakhand BJP MLAs met at the party headquarters in the capital Dehradun.
The 45-year-old, a two-time MLA, represents the Khatima constituency. Earlier, he was an Officer on Special Duty to former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari. It is reported that Dhami will take the oath on Saturday itself.
The Uttarakhand BJP legislature party met on Saturday afternoon to elect its new leader, a day after Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as chief minister after a less than four-month stint.
Tirath Singh Rawat resigns as Uttarakhand CM amidst constitutional crisis
In a surprise move on Friday night, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat submitted his resignation to state governor Baby Rani Maurya nearly four months after assuming the top post in the Himalayan state.
Earlier, Tirath Singh Rawat had met BJP party leadership amidst the speculations over leadership change in Uttarakhand. His resignation comes amidst a lack of clarity over the Election Commission announcing by-elections in Haldwani and Gangotra – the two vacant seats.
Tirath Singh Rawat, a BJP MP, needs to be elected as an MLA in the next two months. However, observers in the BJP feel that EC may not order a by-poll for the vacant seats in Uttarakhand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and also the term of Uttarakhand Assembly is scheduled to come to an end in March, which is just nine months away.
To avoid the constitutional crisis, Tirath Singh Rawat has stepped down from his post as Chief Minister. Interestingly, the names of senior BJP leaders – Satpal Maharaj, Banshidar Bhagat, Harak Singh Rawat and Dhan Singh Rawat were doing the rounds as probable replacements for Rawat. However, the election of Pushkar Singh Dhami has surprised the political watchers in the state.
Uttarakhand is due for its next Assembly election in less than a year.