Pushkar Singh Dhami recently was administered oath as the eleventh chief minister of Uttarakhand.
Dhami, aged 45, is a lawmaker from Khatima assembly constituency who become the youngest chief minister of Uttarakhand, succeeding MP Tirath Singh Rawat. He never held any ministerial position before being elevated as chief minister. Dhami was unanimous choice of all 56 members of BJP’s legislature party.
Reason why Tirath Singh Rawat resigned?
Tirath Singh Rawat resigned because of uncertainty over by-polls he has had to win in order to continue as chief minister. As per rules, he had six months from the date of his swearing in to be elected as member of legislative assembly to continue his term as Chief Minister. However, the Election Commission of India has option of not conducting by-polls if term of assembly expires in less than a year. Under this scenario, Rawat became ineligible to stay in office.
Tirath Singh Rawat Background
Assembly elections in Uttarakhand are scheduled in early 2022. Last elections were held in 2017, in which BJP won 56 of state’s 70 assembly constituencies. BJP leader Trivendra Singh Rawat took oath as the chief minister of State then.
Rawat was sworn in as Chief Minister a day after he was elected as leader of BJP’s legislature party in state. He was administered oath of office by governor Baby Rani Maurya at Raj Bhavan in Dehradun.