Lok Sabha MP from Garhwal Tirath Singh Rawat was elected as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand by the BJP Legislature Party in Dehradun on 10 March. After the resignation of Trivendra Singh Rawat on March 9, he will be administered oath in Dehradun on Wednesday evening.
The meeting of the BJP Legislature Party was held under the supervision of central observers – former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Lok Sabha MP Dushyant Gautam.
Mr. Tirath Singh Rawat, 57 years old, was the Uttarakhand BJP chief in 2013-2015 and a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council before the creation of Uttarakhand during 1997-2002. He has been an MLA in Uttarakhand in 2012–2017, and previously held the post of Minister of Education in the state in 2000–2002.
A long-time member of the BJP, Mr. Tirath Singh Rawat was the dark horse in the race for the Chief Ministership, where the only thing clear was that the choice would be based on a person from the Rajput community.
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A low profile person, Mr. Tirath Singh Rawat is considered very close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and was his close aide during the latter Expander Organizational strengthening program was conducted over a period of 120 days in 2016-2017.
“In 2017, he was prevented from getting a ticket by a camp led by his predecessor after which Mr. Shah appointed him as the national secretary in the BJP with the charge of handling party affairs in Himachal Pradesh. He is a man who does not have a team of employees and often answers his phone, ”said a senior leader. It is to be hoped that this, more low-key, sociable appointment may fix some breakdown within the state unit which revolted against Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat.
Sources also said that one of the first things the new chief minister has to do by the party high command is to withdraw four unpopular decisions of the previous chief minister – the Chardham Devasthanam Management Board Act, and the establishment Gairson Commissionerate.
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The act sought to expand government control over 51 Hindu temples, including Badrinath and Kedarnath, leading to large-scale protests by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindu organizations. The Gearson Commissionerate was set up to spread a great deal of outrage from Kumaon to Almora, and Badrinath and Kedarnath sub-divisions of Garhwal.
With Uttarakhand facing elections in February next year, the BJP is hoping that people can take this change as a sign that the party was responsible for public criticism of its leaders and took action.
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