Tirath Singh Rawat sworn-in as Uttarakhand CM; state will scale 'new heights of progress', says PM Modi

On Wednesday, Tirath Singh Rawat was sworn-in as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand. This comes a day after his predecessor Trivendra Singh Rawat, putting an end to fevered speculation about a change of leadership in the hill state,  tendered his resignation  from the post. Tirath, a Lok Sabha MP from Garhwal and a former state BJP chief, was administered the oath of office by Governor Baby Rani Maurya at the Raj Bhavan in Dehradun.

Tirath Singh Rawat takes oath as the Chief Minister of Uttrakhand@pranshumisraa shares details with @maryashakil pic.twitter.com/5hn7HGdkVJ

— News18 (@CNNnews18) March 10, 2021

His name was announced by the outgoing chief minister after the legislature party meeing, which lasted around 30 minutes, on Wednesday morning. The BJP party chose him over other senior leaders, including Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Uttarakhand minister Dhan Singh Rawat . Earlier Tirath, accompanied by party MLAs and MPs, met the governor at Raj Bhawan to stake his claim to form the government. Offering his congratulations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tirath brings with him vast administrative and organisational experience. “I am confident under his leadership the state will continue to scale new heights of progress,” he added.

Congratulations to Shri @TIRATHSRAWAT on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He brings with him vast administrative and organisational experience. I am confident under his leadership the state will continue to scale new heights of progress.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 10, 2021

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The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 56 MLAs in the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly. Tirath was the state BJP president from 2013 to 2015 and is currently the party’s national secretary. He was also an MLA from the Chaubattakhal constituency from 2012 to 2017. His choice as the new chief minister by the BJP comes as a surprise as he was not among the favourites. After being congratulated by the outgoing chief minister and BJP’s central observer and national vice-president Raman Singh, Tirath thanked the top leadership of the saffron party for giving him the new responsibility. “I have been a humble party worker. I had never imagined that I will be a given an opportunity like this by the party. I hope that with everyone’s cooperation and blessings, I will do justice to my new role,” he said. Though he has held important organisational positions both in the state and at the Centre, Tirath is a first-time MP. He defeated his political mentor and BJP veteran Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri’s son Manish Khanduri of the Congress by over three lakh votes to win from the Pauri Garhwal seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, whose report to the central leadership of the party set in motion the process of leadership change in the hill state, said, “With the kind of challenges facing Uttarakhand, it has got a good leader.” Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank”, who was also being considered a contender for the post, said Tirath is a good choice. “Tirath Singh Rawat is indeed a good choice. Now the BJP is sure to win the 2022 Assembly polls in Uttarakhand,” he told reporters after coming out of the state party office in Dehradun. Trivendra on Tuesday submitted his resignation a day after he met the party’s central leadership amid complaints from a section of Uttarakhand BJP MLAs over his “style of governance.” With inputs from PTI