Uttarkhand: Pushkar Singh Dhami was on Saturday chosen as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party leader in Uttarakhand to pave way for his elevation as the chief minister of the state. He will replace Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned on Friday after a four-month stint marred by controversies including over allowing the Mahakumbh during a devastating surge in Covid infections. Dhami was named as the new leader at a BJP legislature party meeting in Dehradun. The leadership change in the state comes months before the state is due to go to the polls in early 2022.

Dhami, a two-time lawmaker from Khatima in Uddham Singh Nagar district, met Governor Baby Rani Maurya after he was named as the chief minister.

“During the legislature party meeting, Tirath Singh Rawat and party state president MadanKaushik proposed the name of Dhami...other senior leaders Trivendra Singh Rawat, Satpal Maharaj, YashpalArya, Harak Singh Rawat, BansidharBhagat, RituKhanduri, Dhan Singh Rawat and others agreed,” said Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who attended the meeting as one of the central observers.

“As per the party’s democratic process, we as observers asked the members of the legislative assembly on any other proposal, but none came. After that, Dhami was elected as the new leader of legislature party unanimously.” Tirath Singh Rawat congratulated Dhami. “All the 56 members of legislature party elected him unanimously. We are sure that the Uttarakhand will attain new heights of development in the coming period under his leadership.”

Rawat put in his papers days after the BJP leadership summoned him to Delhi where he met Union home minister Amit Shah and party chief JP Nadda. He suggested he resigned because the Election Commission (EC) was unlikely to hold by-elections due to Covid-19. HT on Friday reported an EC official indicated that no request was made to hold a poll and that there were precedents that may have permitted it. Rawat was a member of Parliament when he was named the chief minister. He needed to get elected to the assembly within six months of assuming the post to continue as the chief minister. The EC does not typically hold by-polls to an assembly whose remaining tenure is less year.