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BJP top brass summons Uttarakhand CM to Delhi ahead of assembly polls
Uttarakhand BJP chief Madan Kaushik has made it clear that Tirath Singh Rawat will be the party's chief ministerial face in next year's assembly elections. Rawat replaced Trivendra SIngh Rawat as Uttarakhand chief minister in March.
Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat is coming to Delhi on Wednesday. He has been called to the national capital by Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) central leadership. Rawat leads to BJP government in Uttarakhand and replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat.
The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that Rawat's all scheduled engagements for Wednesday have been cancelled.
The significance of the call by the BJP high command could be gauged by the fact that the state is slated to go to assembly polls next year. Uttarakhand has 70 Assembly seats.
Last week, the BJP's Uttarakhand unit held 'Chintan Baithak' to chalk out a strategy for upcoming elections in the state. In the three-da meeting, party leaders deliberated the programs that will be held every month in the run-up to the polls.
Meanwhile, Rawat has said that he will contest the by-election to become a member of the state assembly. According to the constitution, a minister of chief minister who is not a member of the state assembly has to fight election within six months.
Rawat took oath as the chief minister on March 10 and has time till September 9 to become an MLA.
He said on Tuesday that the party has made preparations for his by-election and he will fight from a seat which the BJP chooses. "This is a constitutional and democratic practice. The party is fully prepared," he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times' sister publication Live Hindustan.
Rawat also claimed that some of the MLAs are ready to vacate their seats for him. Top leaders in the party said that the Gangotri Assembly seat is being considered for the chief minister to contest.
The BJP's Uttarakhand unit president Madan Kaushik said that Rawat will be the party's chief ministerial candididate in the 2022 assembly elections, Live Hindustan reported.
