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Uttarakhand BJP MLAs to meet today, likely to take a call on CM
BJP’s central observers Rajnath Singh and Meenakshi Lekhi will reach Dehradun today
The new lawmakers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttarakhand will meet at 5pm on Monday to choose the next chief minister of the Himalayan state after pro-tem speaker Bansidhar Bhagat administers the oath of office to the MLAs at 11am, people familiar with the developments said.
The party’s central observers Rajnath Singh and Meenakshi Lekhi will arrive in Dehradun on Monday afternoon, BJP’s state general secretary Kuldeep Kumar said.
With uncertainty continuing over the next chief minister in Uttarakhand, a meeting was also held at the residence of home minister Amit Shah in Delhi over the issues related to government formation in Uttarakhand.
The meeting was attended by caretaker chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, state BJP president Madan Kaushik, former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, and former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. BJP national president JP Nadda and other party leaders including BL Santhosh were also present in the meeting.
All the newly elected 47 BJP MLAs are arriving in Dehradun for the legislative party meeting. Besides Dhami, the main aspirants for the top post include Ritu Khanduri, Anil Baluni, Satpal Maharaj, Dhan Singh Rawat, Madan Kaushik, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Ajay Bhatt , and Bhansidhar Bhagat.
BJP won 47 out of 70 seats in the assembly. The Congress party won 19 seats.
The BJP is taking a lot of time to decide on the chief minister’s post because it has to keep many things in mind, according to MM Semwal, political analyst and professor of political science at Garhwal University.
“First, they want to have a chief minister who will continue for next five years, and deliver and provide a stable government. Second, they want a chief minister who has a clear understanding of national and state governance dynamics,” Semwal said.
The party wants a two-in-one chief minister who can deliver good governance and also keep the 2024 general elections in mind, Semwal added.
The BJP wants the swearing-in ceremony to be a memorable event, said Manveer Singh Chauhan, state BJP media in-charge.
“The swearing in of this historic victory should also be historic, grand and splendid. This swearing in programme will take place outside the Raj Bhavan at the Parade Ground,” he said.
“This event will form a framework for public engagement. It will send the message of the government to the common man and in the coming five years,” he added.
