Pushkar Singh Dhami set to be new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand; third CM in 4 months

Mr Dhami who is the sitting MLA from Khatima constituency of Kumaon region will take oath as the new CM of Uttarakhand at 5 pm on Sunday.


Pushkar Singh Dhami was on Saturday chosen as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand by the state BJP legislature party. He will be the third CM of Uttarakhand in a span of four months. The development came one day after Tirath Singh Rawat resigned from the post of chief minister and handed over his resignation to the BJP national president, JP Nadda, reported NDTV. Mr Rawat resigned from the post as his chances of getting elected to the state Legislative Assembly by September 10 seemed low. The decision was taken after 57 BJP MLAs met at the BJP headquarters in Dehradun. Mr Rawat who was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019, was chosen by the central leadership as CM in place of Trivendra Singh Rawat. Tirath had sworn in on March 10 and he had time till September 10 to get elected as an MLA. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions in place, it was difficult to hold bypoll and most importantly, according to the Representation of the People Act, a by-election for a seat should not be held if the term of a House is less than a year. Trivendra Singh Rawat told NDTV that the Election Commission has given in writing that it cannot hold elections amid the Covid pandemic in certain states. Uttarakhand Assembly Elections are to be held next year. Mr Dhami is the sitting MLA from Khatima constituency of Kumaon region. Other than the MLAs, today's meeting was attended by the BJP's central observer Narendra Singh Tomar, and its state in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam. Mr Dhami will take oath as the state's new chief minister at 5 pm on Sunday. 

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