Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami resigns day after election result
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and the state cabinet tendered their resignation to Governor Gurmit Singh at Raj Bhawan on Friday. Dhami will continue as caretaker CM until a new government is formed. On Thursday, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the 2022 Uttarakhand elections, becoming the first party to be re-elected in the state. However, Dhami lost from his Khatima constituency.
"As we have won a thumping majority in Uttarakhand, with the completion of the tenure of the sitting legislative assembly, I tendered my resignation along with my cabinet to the Governor Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh," said the outgoing chief minister.
The BJP won 47 seats in the 70-member state assembly, which is lower than its 2017 tally of 57 seats. However, Dhami lost his Khatima seat to Congress candidate Bhuvan Chandra Kapri by a margin of almost 7,000 votes. On the other hand, the Congress received only 19 seats with its tallest leader, Harish Rawat, losing from the Lalkuan seat.
Due to Dhami's defeat, some BJP MLAs, including Kailash Gahtori and Suresh Gadiya, have expressed their willingness to give up their respective seats for him to contest. The BJP may also pick a different CM. Notably, Uttarakhand saw three different CMs last year—Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned in March 2021 and was replaced by Tirath Singh Rawat until Dhami took over in July.
Bansidhar Bhagat, a multi-term MLA and former Uttarakhand BJP President, Dhan Singh Rawat, an outgoing state minister, and Satpal Maharaj, also a minister in the outgoing government, are among the names being floated for the CM post. The top BJP leadership will take a decision over the next CM after a meeting in Delhi, according to The Indian Express.
