Two-time MLA Pushkar Singh Dhami is all set to be the next chief minister of Uttarakhand.
He will replace Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned as Uttarakhand chief minister on Friday after holding the top post for less than four months.
Dhami, who represents Khatima, has been elected leader of the BJP state legislature party in the presence of Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, said a media report.
Union minister for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy Giriraj Singh has congratulated Dhami for being elected as the BJP legislature party leader.
“Many congratulations to Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami ji on being chosen by the BJP Legislature Party as the candidate for the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand,” Union minister Giriraj Singh tweeted.
Many congratulations to Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami ji on being chosen by the BJP Legislature Party as the candidate for the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. pic.twitter.com/0xW3Khyugp
— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) July 3, 2021
The media report quoted Pushkar Singh Dhami’s mother Vishna Devi in Khatima as saying that she is “very happy but feeling a little sad that his father is not with us to see him (Pushkar Singh Dhami) as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand”.
“He worked very hard for this,” Vishna Devi said.
Congress leader and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Friday said Tirath Singh Rawat’s resignation as Uttarakhand chief minister due to constitutional compulsion and byelections cannot be held in the state due to COVID is the biggest lie.
“What can be a bigger lie than this that byelections cannot be held in Uttarakhand due to COVID and the chief minister is resigning due to constitutional compulsion. The reality is that byelections have been held before in the same COVID period. The byelection has been held in Salt (an assembly constituency in Uttarakhand). The chief minister could have contested from there also,” Rawat tweeted.
“By making resignations of others from anywhere else, he could contest elections from there. But due to the lack of complete knowledge of the law, another Chief Minister has been imposed on the state. In five years, BJP is giving three chief ministers to Uttarakhand,” Rawat further wrote on his Twitter handle.
After resigning as the Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Rawat Singh told reporters: “I have submitted my resignation to the Governor (Baby Rani Maurya). Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign.”