Uttarakhand to have its third chief minister in four months

Pushkar Singh Dhami has been chosen to be the chief minister of Uttarakhand by the BJP legislative party, reports NDTV. He will be the third CM to the state in four months.

MLAs Satpal Maharaj and Dhan Singh Rawat were also considered for the job. Former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat was also suggested by a section of party leaders.

The representative from the Khatima constituency in Uttarakhand'sKumaon region is a two-time legislator. He was also the Officer on Special Duty to former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.

Dhami was declared new CM after the 57 Uttarakhand BJP MLAs met at the party headquarters. The meeting was attended by the BJP's central observer Narendra Singh Tomar and the state in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam.

Former CM Tirat Singh Rawat resigned from the post amid low chances of getting elected to the state Legislative Assembly by September 10. He was sworn in as CM in March following fierce dissent against Tiverndra Singh Rawat. The state will have another Assembly election in less than a year.

He also said that he resigned because of the constitutional crisis. However, during his 114 days in office, the BJP leaders in Uttarakhand had complained about public anger to the Delhi leadership. Rawat was accused of embarrassing his party for criticising his predecessor's policy decisions. The handling of KumbhMela also caused a severe backlash.

He told NDTV that Uttarakhand is facing a constitutional crisis because there is less than a year for the next election. A report said that the possibility of holding a bye-poll amid the pandemic is increasingly distant. The Election Commission has also been accused of allowing March-April without considering the risks and leading the country to high infection rates.