A question over leadership has arisen in Uttarakhand despite a thumping victory by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) due to chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s defeat in his own constituency of Khatima, people familiar with the matter said.
A day after the party stormed back to power winning 47 of 70 seats in the state assembly, the people indicated that one section of BJP leaders started discussing the names of other leaders who could take over as CM, even as another group argued that he should continue in the top post for stabilising the government and leading the party to victory after the removal of two chief ministers in the last 12 months.
Four years into his tenure, Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned on March 9 2021, paving the way for Tirath Singh Rawat as the new chief minister, who too had to resign after 115 days in power on July 3. It was then that the 45 year old Pushkar Singh Dhami took over.
Among the names being discussed as possible replacements are former chief minister and Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank”, Ajay Bhatt, Satpal Maharaj, Anil Baluni, and Dhan Singh Rawat, the people cited above indicated.
One senior leader, however, said there would be no change in leadership. “The victory came under him (Dhami) as chief minister, and was in part because of his work ethic and hectic campaigning across the state. He lost because this meant he was not able to effectively campaign in his constituency.”