Pushkar Singh Dhami appointed as new U'Khand CM; What's next for the state?

Pushkar Singh Dhami has been appointed as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand. He will be taking reigns from former CM Tirath Singh Rawat.

The Bhartiya Janata Party has appointed BJP leader Pushkar Singh Dhami has the new chief minister of Uttarakhand. He is a two-time MLA from Khatima. The BJP leader will take charge from former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, who submitted his resignation on Friday night. His resignation came only four months after taking charge. This development comes at a time when Uttarakhand is due for its next Assembly election in less than a year.

Elated on her son’s appointment as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami’s mother Vishna Devi said that she is very happy. However, she is also feeling a little sad as his father is not with them to see him become the CM of the state. She added that her son has worked very hard for this.

Meanwhile, his wife Geeta thanked senior leaders of the party, including PM Modi and Amit Shah. She further highlighted that Pushkar singh comes from a middle class family and understands the problems of people. Pushkar Singh Dhami is meeting Governor Baby Rani Maurya in Dehradun today and will be taking the oath tomorrow.

Tirath Singh Rawat, who had been in Delhi for the past three days holding meetings with the BJP’s top leadership, was asked yesterday afternoon to quit. Soon after, he sought an appointment with Governor Baby Rani Maurya, but before that he handed his resignation to party Chief JP Nadda. “Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. Bye-polls could not be held because of COVID-19,. I am thankful to the central leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for every opportunity they have given to me so far,” Tirath Singh Rawat said in a press conference.

Rawat’s resignation came less than four months after he took over as Chief Minister replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat. With this, the BJP is now expected to choose a new leader and the state is likely to get its third chief minister in nearly four months. Responding to the situation, Senior Congress leader and former CM Harish Rawat attacked the BJP on Friday, saying it was false propaganda that a by-election could not be held due to Covid or that Rawat was resigning because of constitutional compulsions. “The saffron party has given three chief ministers during a period of five years” he added.