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A Rawat to replace Rawat? These are the top contenders who could be next Uttarakhand CM

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned Tuesday, just days before he was to complete four years in office.

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New Delhi: Dhan Singh Rawat, a minister in the cabinet of outgoing Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, and one with close ties to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has been tipped as the frontrunner to replace the latter although many other names are doing the rounds in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Trivendra Rawat resigned as the chief minister of Uttarakhand Tuesday, following a meeting with party president J.P. Nadda Monday night. He met Governor Baby Rani Maurya at Raj Bhavan and submitted his resignation. 

Rawat, who was scheduled to complete four years in office on 18 March, was summoned to Delhi amid mounting pressure on the BJP leadership to replace him ahead of assembly elections due next year.

A legislative party meeting will be held at 10 am Wednesday in which a new leader will be elected as the new chief minister. The party’s central observers for Uttarakhand, senior BJP leader Raman Singh and national general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam, will reach Dehradun Wednesday to be a part of the meeting. 

The party has to take a decision keeping the 2022 assembly elections in view and at the same time maintaining the caste equation in the state leadership. 

Sources in the state said that the central leadership is also looking at bringing in deputy chief ministers, most likely from the Kumaon region. Pushkar Singh Dhami is being considered for this post. 

Several names are doing the rounds, and here are some of the top contenders. 


Also read: Only 1 out of 8 Uttarakhand CMs completed 5 yrs in office. Rawat is latest to leave early


Dhan Singh Rawat

Dhan Singh Rawat has always maintained a low-profile and is the education minister in the current Uttarakhand government. He hails from Srinagar in Pauri district. 

According to a senior BJP leader, Rawat’s association with the RSS and the fact that he was a grassroots organiser work in his favour.  

Dhan Singh has served as the RSS’ general secretary in the past. Although he lost his first assembly election in 2012, he won his next in 2017. He was the state secretary of the ABVP before joining the BJP.

“The only issue one has with his leadership is he is also not an inspiring leader who can control infighting,” said the senior BJP leader. 

Anil Baluni

According to sources, BJP MP Anil Baluni is another strong contender for the post. 

Baluni, a young Rajya Sabha MP, is also the BJP media in-charge at the national level. He is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Baluni, 50, started his career as a journalist and soon took over as the officer on special duty (OSD) to Sunder Singh Bhandari who was then the Governor of Bihar when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the chief minister in 1998. 

When Bhandari was made the governor of Gujarat, Baluni came in contact with Modi and their association only grew stronger over a period of time. He belongs to Pauri Garhwal and his close association with the central leadership definitely gives him an edge. 

Ajay Bhatt

Another senior BJP leader and MP, Ajay Bhatt is also in the reckoning. Bhatt had served as the Uttarakhand BJP president during the tenure of Amit Shah. 

Satpal Maharaj

Some of the other names that are in the race to become the CM include state tourism minister Satpal Maharaj, Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” and general secretary of the state BJP, Suresh Bhatt. 

Maharaj, considered a  powerful leader who enjoys the support of the state’s religious leaders too, has served as an MP twice and as a minister in the state. He has been nurturing ambitions of leading the state for a long time but sources in the party said that his antecedents in the Congress work against him. Maharaj only joined the BJP in 2014. 

(Edited by Arun Prashanth)


Also read: What’s behind the Wasim Jaffer row in Uttarakhand? A divided cricket body & a ‘one-man show


 

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