BJP 'chooses' Garhwal MP Tirath Singh Rawat as next Uttarakhand CM

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 10

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday “chose” Garhwal MP Tirath Singh Rawat as the successor for Trivendra Singh Rawat, who resigned as the Chief Minister on Tuesday.

Rawat’s name was announced by the outgoing CM during the meeting of the Uttarakhand BJP party. 

Later, the 56-year-old was sworn-in by Governor Baby Rani Maurya. 

Read also | Tirath Singh Rawat: Unassuming, down-to-earth leader

Since names of at least half a dozen state ministers and MPs—which included Dhan Singh Rawat, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Satpal Maharaj, Ajay Bhat, Anil Baluni—were doing the rounds, the selection of the low-profile Rawat came as surprise for many party leaders.

Meanwhile, the task ahead for Rawat—who has served in various capacities in the state organisation, also as the BJP president, and also as the first Education Minister of the newly-formed Uttarakhand— is cut out, and even challenging.

Currently, Rawat come from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), background, and has the definitive challenge to return his party to power in the Assembly elections next year.

Sources revealed that he was “chosen by the central leadership” over other candidates with “great care”, bearing in mind the prevailing political situation, the caste, and regional play, and his own “uncontroversial, clean and committed image”.

Interestingly, in the last Assembly elections in 2017, state cabinet minister Satpal Maharaj was given the ticket from Chaubattakhal instead of Rawat.

“He accepted the decision quietly as a true soldier of the party,” said sources. Then in 2019, he was fielded from the Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency in place of former CM BS Khanduri.  

Today, Rawat thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and, party president JP Nadda for entrusting him this important assignment.

“As someone coming from a small village, I never imagined that someday I will be given such a huge responsibility. I am just a small ‘karyakarta’ (party worker) of the BJP. I will make all efforts to meet the party’s and people’s expectations and take forward work done in past four years,” he said. 

Talking about the challenges before him—including, steering the BJP back to victory in the next elections—he said: “Challenges are always there in life. I will fulfill my duties with complete responsibility”. 

Observers—Raman Singh and Dushyant Gautam—who were sent by the state leadership to gauge the mood had pointed MLAs’ resentment with Trivendra Singh’s “style of functioning and lack of control over the bureaucrats”.

Apparently, some also said that Trivendra Singh’s “uninspiring” leadership had the potential to damage BJP’s prospects in 2022.  This, and some other reasons—including rumours and allegations of corruption—led the central leadership to affect the sudden change in the state it won with a huge majority in 2017.

Modi, Shah, and Nadda congratulated Tirath Singh on taking oath as the new CM of Uttarakhand.

“He brings with him vast administrative and organisational experience. I am confident under his leadership the state will continue to scale new heights of progress", said The Prime Minister.

State president Bansidhar Bhagat described him as someone connected with the grassroots, and one who understands the organisation well.

Incidentally, Rawat is the fifth CM from the Pauri region. His appointment is being seen with importance, and influence of the region in state politics.

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