Pushkar Singh Dhami, 45, the two-time Bhartiya Janata Party MLA, is sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He is the hill state’s youngest Chief Minister after the incumbent Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat resigned Sarurday night.
Previously, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank became the youngest leader in the top job when he became Chief Minister at age 49.
Mr Dhami is the eleventh Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, and the third in four months after Trivendra Singh Rawat and Tirat Singh Rawat resigned from the post amid infighting. He represents Khatima constituency in the hill state’s Kumaon region.
According to the reports, Mr Dhami is said to be close to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and was also an Officer on Special Duty to former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.
The outgoing Chief Minister, Tirath Singh Rawat, took charge in March following fierce dissent against Trivendra Singh Rawat. To keep the post, however, Tirath Singh Rawat had to win an assembly seat by September 10.
Holding a by-election amid the pandemic seemed an increasingly distant possibility as the assembly polls are due in less than a year. So he had to give up his post.
