Tirath Singh Rawat was sworn in as the chief minister of Uttarakhand on Wednesday. Rawat is currently the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency as well as a national secretary of the party.
He replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat, who resigned from the CM’s post, on Tuesday. His resignation came after BJP general secretary in-charge of Uttarakhand Dushyant Kumar Gautam and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, submitted a report to the BJP’s central leadership detailing the rebellion in the state unit of the party, sources said
Tirath Singh Rawat, 56, was the BJP chief in Uttarakhand in 2013-15 and he also served as an MLA from the state in the past. According to sources, he was picked over other prominent candidates including Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Uttarakhand Minister Dhan Singh Rawat.
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Congratulating Rawat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the former brings with him vast administrative and organisational experience.
Modi further expressed confidence that under Rawat's leadership, the state will continue to scale new heights of progress.
Congratulating the new chief minister, Modi tweeted, "Congratulations to Shri
@TIRATHSRAWAT on taking oath as the Chief Minister 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."
Known as a simple and down-to-earth leader, Tirath Singh Rawat has taken over the reins in Uttarakhand at a time when the BJP is preparing for the state Assembly polls due early next year. His cabinet will be sworn in the next few days.
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Known as a simple and down-to-earth leader, Tirath Singh Rawat has taken over the reins in Uttarakhand at a time when the BJP is preparing for the state Assembly polls due early next year. His cabinet will be sworn in the next few days.
Earlier in the day, Rawat was elected as the leader of the Uttarakhand BJP legislature party, which came as a surprise to many as his name was not among the nearly half-a-dozen names doing the rounds in the media over the last few days as contenders for the top post.
Rawat's supporters burst into celebrations and lifted the 56-year-old leader on their shoulders amid the beating of drums as his name was announced by outgoing chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat as the leader of the legislature party after its meeting at the state BJP office at Balbir Road.
After the celebrations at the state party office in the presence of senior leaders, MLAs and MPs, Rawat went to the Raj Bhawan to meet the governor and stake his claim to form the government.
After being congratulated by the outgoing chief minister and the BJP's central observer and national vice-president Raman Singh, Rawat thanked the top leadership of the saffron party for giving him the new responsibility.
"I am a small party worker from a village. I had never imagined that I will be a given an opportunity like this by the party. I hope that with everyone's cooperation and blessings, I will fulfil the expectations from me," he said.
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Though Rawat has held important organisational positions both in the state and at the Centre, he is a first-time MP.
He defeated his political mentor and BJP veteran Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri's son Manish Khanduri of the Congress by over three lakh votes to win from the Pauri Garhwal seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, whose report to the central leadership of the party set in motion the process of leadership change in the hill state, said, "With the kind of challenges facing Uttarakhand, it has got a good leader."
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank", who was also being considered a contender for the post, said Rawat was a good choice.
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"Tirath Singh Rawat is indeed a good choice. Now the BJP is sure to win the 2022 Assembly polls in Uttarakhand," he told reporters after coming out of the state party office.
Rawat's appointment as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand puts an end to the momentous political developments in the state over the last few days that started with a sudden meeting of the state BJP's core committee here in the presence of central party observers last Saturday, triggering the speculation about a change of leadership in the state.
(With PTI inputs)
