Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat resigns amid political upheaval in state

Amid speculations, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya just days before his government’s fourth anniversary on 17 March. He met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Delhi yesterday.

Sources said that BJP MLAs in Uttarakhand may meet at 11 am on Wednesday to select the new chief minister. Addressing a press conference after meeting the Governor, the incumbent CM thanked the BJP for giving him the opportunity to become the chief minister of Uttarakhand. The outgoing CM said that he will work together with anyone who will be chosen by the party to lead the state.

“The party gave me a golden opportunity to serve this State for four years. I had never thought that I would get such an opportunity. The party has now decided that the opportunity to serve as CM should be given to someone else now,” Rawat said in Dehradun.

As CM Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned on Tuesday putting an end to speculations of a change in the political leadership of the state, the BJP has already drafted its new blueprint in which there will be a deputy chief minister — a tested model of BJP governance.

For the CM post, three names have emerged — Dhan Singh Rawat, the education minister of the state, and Parliament members Ajay Bhatt and Anil Baluni.

On Monday evening, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief J.P. Nadda, National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santosh discussed the political development in the hill state. In 2017, Rawat was made Chief Minister after BJP won in Uttarakhand.