Mumbai: Uttarakhand’s caretaker CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has been chosen as the new state CM after BJP won 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly in the recently-concluded elections.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that Pushkar Singh Dhami has been elected as the leader of the legislature party in Uttarakhand.
“I congratulate him, I am confident that under his leadership Uttarakhand will make rapid progress,” Singh said after Dhami was appointed as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
Earlier, BJP MLAs took an oath of office at a function held in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in the state capital today. The saffron party created history by returning to power in the hill state for the second time in a row.
Despite the electoral defeat, Dhami was at the forefront of the race for the top post. It was speculated that the BJP leadership was ready to reappoint Dhami as the CM of Uttarakhand because of his ‘honest’ image and that he helped hold the party together. He is reportedly credited with doing a commendable job despite the BJP being on the backfoot in exchange for two chief ministers since assuming power in 2017.
However, sources said Mr Dhami had strong support from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Sources said the decision to give him a second term was approved by PM Modi during yesterday’s meeting to discuss government formation in the states.
Mr Dhami’s reaffirmation is also seen as a way to keep at bay growing factionalism in the party’s state unit. It was the challenge of balance that has created uncertainty in the top post since the election results were announced on March 10.
Mr Dhami was made the Chief Minister in July last year after his predecessors Trivendra Singh Rawat and Tirath Singh Rawat came under a lot of criticism over their leadership.
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