Who will be the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand? On Sunday (March 20, 2022), there was a great churning on this issue at the house of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the country’s capital New Delhi. In this meeting, from BJP Chief JP Nadda to the caretaker CM of the state, Pushkar Singh Dhami.
In this important meeting of senior BJP leaders, organization general secretary BL Santosh, state’s central election in-charge Prahlad Joshi, caretaker Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami, state president Madan Kaushik, former state president Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and former Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank were also present. Sources also said that the name of the leader of the legislature party was discussed in this meeting being held before the BJP Legislature Party meeting.
Actually, in Uttarakhand, the BJP got a resounding majority, but Chief Minister Dhami had to face defeat from Khatima. In such a situation, the round of brainstorming continues in the BJP regarding who will lead the government. Despite the defeat, Dhami is leading the race for the chief minister’s post. Dhami’s presence in the ongoing meeting at Shah’s residence also indicates this.
However, sources say that Chaubattakhal MLA Satpal Maharaj, Srinagar MLA Dhan Singh Rawat and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni are also among the contenders for the chief minister’s post. For the proposed meeting of BJP Legislature Party, BJP has made Defense Minister Rajnath Singh as Central Observer and Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi as Co-observer.
Sources in the BJP’s Uttarakhand unit said Dhami is more likely to become the chief minister again as he is not only young and energetic, but the BJP had contested elections in his name in the hill state and registered a resounding victory. According to sources, another major reason why the party decided to seal Dhami’s name could be that it had faced a lot of criticism for replacing two chief ministers in a very short span of time in the previous term.
“If Keshav Prasad Maurya, who lost his seat in the Uttar Pradesh elections, can be made deputy chief minister again, why can’t Dhami be made chief minister,” a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity. However, sources said that if the party decides to select a new face, it will be very important to strike a regional and caste balance.
Since Ajay Bhatt, a Brahmin leader from Kumaon, has already been made a Union Minister of State, a Thakur or Rajput leader from Garhwal could be chosen for the post of Chief Minister to strike a regional and caste balance. If this happens, Satpal Maharaj or Dhan Singh Rawat, the prominent Thakur leader of Garhwal, could emerge as the preferred face for the chief minister’s post.