E-Paper
BJP observers in Dehradun ahead of meeting to choose new CM
Uttarakhand ministers Satpal Maharaj and Dhan Singh Rawat were the front runners for the top post, a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.
A team of central observers led by Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar arrived in Dehradun on Saturday ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s legislature party meeting to choose the new Uttarakhand chief minister later in the day.
The central observers will meet the state BJP leadership before the legislature party meeting at 3 pm.
The meeting has been called to replace Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned as the Uttarakhand chief minister on Friday just four months after he took over.
BJP spokesman Manveer Singh Chauhan said two central observers Tomar and general secretary D Purandeshwariparty and BJP state in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam and co-in-charge Rekha Verma have reached Dehradun.
A BJP leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said ministers Satpal Maharaj and Dhan Singh Rawat were the front runners for the top post. “Other names include lawmakers Ritu Khanduri and Pushkar Dhami.”
He added the final decision would be taken with approval from the central leadership.
Rawat’s resignation ended his short stint that was marred by controversies including over allowing the Mahakumbh during a devastating surge in Covid infections, and large-scale fraud in testing during the mega fair. Rawat, 57, suggested he resigned because the Election Commission (EC) was unlikely to hold by-elections due to Covid-19. But an EC official indicated that no request was made to hold a by-poll and suggested there were precedents that may have permitted it. A chief minister, if not a member of the assembly, needs to be elected within six months of assuming the post. The EC does not typically hold by-polls to vacant constituencies when an assembly’s remaining term is less than a year.
