Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat resigns. BJP assessment says he could lose bypoll
Politics

Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat resigns. BJP assessment says he could lose bypoll

Rawat, a Lok Sabha MP, will have to resign and get elected to state assembly by 10 Sept. BJP leaders maintain that Rawat is resigning because there is no clarity if EC will hold bypolls on time.

   
File photo of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat (second from right) in Haridwar | Photo: ANI

File photo of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat (second from right) in Haridwar | Photo: ANI

New Delhi: Putting an end to all speculation, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya late Friday night.

Rawat, who was accompanied by the state BJP president Madan Kaushik, submitted his resignation at around 11.15 pm.

“Due to constitutional crisis, I have submitted my resignation to the governor,” he later told media at his residence in Dehradun.  

PTI reported that the Uttarakhand BJP legislature party is set to meet Saturday to elect its new leader, who will be later sworn in as the next chief minister of the state where assembly elections are due early next year.

According to sources, Rawat’s resignation came at the prodding of the BJP high command, which took into account assessments that Rawat may lose the assembly bypoll if he contests, which would then have a very adverse impact on the party’s prospects in assembly elections early next year. 

Party leaders, however, maintained for the record that Rawat was resigning because there is no clarity on whether the Election Commission would hold bypolls on time.

Rawat is facing Constitutional issues regarding his elevation — the chief minister is a Lok Sabha MP and has to get elected to the state assembly before 10 September to retain his post.    

He had met BJP president J.P. Nadda Friday, for the second time in three days, to discuss the political crisis and his election to the state assembly before 10 September.

A source in the BJP told ThePrint that the next chief minister will be chosen from among the MLAs.


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A CM under Constitutional pressure

Rawat, who replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat as chief minister of the hill state on 10 March, is the Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal.  

To continue as chief minister under Constitutional norms, he needed to resign from the Lok Sabha and get elected to the state Vidhan Sabha by 10 September. 

Since Uttarakhand does not have a legislative council, the chief minister can only get elected to the state assembly. 

Rawat’s problems have been compounded by the lack of clarity on whether the Election Commission will conduct bypolls at Gangotri and Haldwani, which have been lying vacant since April and June this year, respectively.  

Sources said that the BJP high command is not confident that Tirath Singh Rawat will be able to win the election. “If that happens, it has the ability to impact the UP elections too,” said a BJP leader. 

‘Will go with what party decides’

Rawat had said he would abide by whatever the party’s central leadership decides. He was speaking after his meeting with Nadda, which lasted for around 30 minutes Friday. 

After the meeting with the central leadership, the indications are that it will be difficult for the chief minister to continue,” a second BJP leader had told ThePrint before Rawat announced his resignation. “At the same time, the anti-Rawat gang is also using the opportunity to scuttle his chances.” 

Rawat had also met Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah late Wednesday nightSources said that issues regarding his continuance as chief minister were discussed at the meeting. 

“During the Wednesday meeting, which took place at Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence, all the possible scenarios were discussed,” a third BJP leader said.  

The leader added that it was explained to Rawat that it would be difficult to hold bypolls, given that there is a caveat in the Representation of the People Act, which stipulates that bypolls for a seat should be held if the incumbent elected has at least a year’s tenure to serve.

Assembly elections in Uttarakhand are less than a year away — the term of the current assembly, elected in 2017, will expire on 23 March 2022.

BJP national general secretary and Uttarakhand in-charge, Dushyant Gautam, told ThePrint that there was no discussion of the Uttarakhand by-polls at the party level. “If there is anything you will get to know. Right now there’s no such discussion,” he said. 

While the party refused to speak on the issue, sources said that the central leadership had called senior Uttarakhand leaders Satpal Maharaj and Dhan Singh Rawat to Delhi.

(This report has been updated with the news that Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as the chief minister of Uttarakhand.)

(Edited by Arun Prashanth)


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