Uttarakhand CM resigns

Trivendra Singh Rawat’s decision to announce Gairsain as a new administrative division led to ouster, say BJP leaders

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned on Tuesday, nine days before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government completed four years in power in the state, following a rebellion in the ranks against his “unilateral” decision to announce Gairsain as a new administrative division, party leaders aware of the developments said.

Rawat, who became the chief minister after the BJP swept the assembly elections in 2017, submitted his resignation to governor Baby Rani Maurya at the Raj Bhawan upon his arrival from Delhi after meeting the BJP’s central leadership. Rawat met BJP national president JP Nadda and party general secretary BL Santhosh in Delhi and held discussions with his close associates before submitting resignation to the governor, officials aware of the development said.

After submitting his resignation, Rawat said the Uttarakhand BJP Legislature Party will meet at the state party headquarters in Dehradun on Wednesday morning to choose his successor. The new leader would be then administered the oath of office with central observer Raman Singh, former Chhattisgarh CM, presiding over the meeting.

State higher education minister Dhan Singh Rawat, who was flown in from Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal district to Dehradun on Tuesday afternoon, is said to be among the frontrunner for the post. Dhan Singh Rawat is considered close to Trivendra Rawat and fits in the balancing equation of Thakur CM from Garhwal and Brahmin state BJP president from Kumaon region.

Of the 11 chief minister that have taken helm of the state after it was formed in the year 2000, only one — Congress’s ND Tiwari —has completed a full five-year term.

Soon after submitting his resignation, Rawat addressed a press conference at his official residence, telling the media that the party has “collectively decided” that someone else should leads the state now. “I feel really honoured that my party gave me the opportunity to serve Devbhoomi for nearly four years,” Rawat said. “Now the party has collectively decided that I should give this opportunity to someone else. So I have submitted my resignation to the Governor. I wish all the best to whoever takes over from me.”

But Rawat did not divulge much on why he was being replaced.

“I told you it was a collective decision of the party… You will have to go to Delhi to find that out,” he quipped upon being probed further.

BJP leaders aware of the development said the political upheaval started when CM Rawat announced Gairsain as the third administrative division in the state without consulting his cabinet colleagues. “It was a unilateral announcement which had huge political ramifications as people in Kumaon were against such a move,” said a senior minister in his cabinet.

Other leaders said the discontent against the CM’s style of working had been building up for some time. As many as 13 MLAs past few days had written collectively to the party’s central