From RSS Worker To Uttarakhand CM For 2nd Time: Meet Pushkar Singh Dhami Who Broke The Jinx For BJP

Pushkar Singh Dhami was on Monday announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party as Uttarakhand’s next chief minister, which would make him the only one so far in the state’s history to have a second consecutive term. 

Carved out of Uttar Pradesh in the year 2000, Uttarakhand had been well-known to never repeat a government, but the jinx was broken in 2022 assembly elections as Dhami powered BJP to an unprecedented second consecutive term in the state. However, Dhami lost his own seat of Khatima. 

Despite this setback, BJP has entrusted Dhami with a second chief ministerial term. Here is a look at his political career that saw him rise from a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker to a chief minister who is now set to script history as being the first one to take oath for the second consecutive time.

From student politics to CM’s office

Pushkar Singh Dhami began his political career in 1990 with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students’ wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He was the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha twice and had earlier campaigned for reservation of jobs in industries for the local youth.

While he was widely seen to have been picked by the party high command out of obscurity in 2021, Dhami is not a stranger to corridors of power. He is a protege of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, whom he served as an Officer on Special Duty and an adviser during his tenure in 2001-02. 

In July 2021, Dhami replaced Tirath Singh Rawat as chief minister, who had replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat barely four months back. From political instability to issues such as Char Dham priests’ agitation, a massive coronavirus testing scam, and unrest due to unemployment, Dhami proved to be successful in navigating BJP to an unprecedented victory.

Dhami proved to be BJP’s MS Dhoni in Uttarakhand 

Before elections, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had compared Pushkar Singh Dhami to cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and had called him a “good finisher” like Dhoni. Dhami lived up to the comparison and scored the runs for BJP towards the end when it mattered most. 

Political observers have said that Dhami is part of BJP’s long-term plan of building up new leadership in Uttarakhand. 

Dhami’s role in BJP’s victory cannot be underestimated. An Outlook story noted BJP insiders openly admitting that if either of the two previous chief ministers – Tirath Singh and Trivendra Singh – had been allowed to complete a five-year term, BJP would have got completely wiped out in the state.

How did Dhami deliver?

Dhami's electoral pitch in Uttarakhand was a mix of development and Hindutva.

The pitch included infrastructural works such as roadways, railways, and air connectivity projects. The reconstruction of the Kedarnath in the last five years was also hailed as a key achievement. The party also included criticism of the “politics of appeasement” from the Congress party in their campaign. 

An Outlook story noted that the BJP-RSS combine in Uttarakhand played up its Hindutva card towards the end of the campaign. They claimed that the Congress party had promised to set up a Muslim University upon election. Dhami spoke in support of the Uniform Civil Code, raised the construction of Ram Mandir and the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dhami has work cut out for him 

As they say, with great powers, come great responsibilities. 

While Dhami might have turned out to be a great finisher for BJP like Dhoni in the assembly elections, he now has to play the Test game and fulfil his party’s long-term plan of building a new leadership in the state and consolidating its hold.  

Uttarakhand continues to face issues like unequal development, unemployment, farming turning uneconomic in Garhwal areas causing a mass migration from the villages – leading to creation of empty villages called “bhootiya villages” – ghost villages.

Dhami now has to work on these issues. He is also aware that his party has a habit of changing chief ministers that don’t deliver desired results and he is a leader of a state that has been infamous for political instability since its inception – Dhami is the 11th chief minister in 21 years. 

Dhami therefore has his work cut out for him

With PTI inputs