Pushkar Singh Dhami is all set to return as the chief minister of Uttarakhand. He will be sworn in as the CM today, i.e. on Wednesday at 3:30 pm at the Parade Ground in Dehradun. He is the 11th CM of the state since its formation in 2000.
Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda would be present for the grand swearing in of Pushkar Singh Dhami in Dehradun.
The decision to make Dhami the chief minister was taken under the leadership of Rajnath Singh, BJP's central observer for Uttarakhand. Dhami's name was finalised at the BJP legislative party meeting that was attended by Rajnath Singh, Meenakshi Lekhi and the party's poll in-charge for the state Pralhad Joshi.
The CM-elect has been given a second term despite losing his assembly seat. He had lost his Khatima seat in the Udhamsingh Nagar district by 6,579 votes to Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri in the recently contested Uttarakhand Assembly elections. Due to this fact, there were whispers about MLAs Satpal Maharaj, Dhan Singh Rawat and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni being the top contenders for the CM post. However, a section of BJP leaders credited Dhami for the party's big win in the polls and wanted him to be the chief minister again.
BJP won 47 of 70 Assembly seats in the Uttarakhand polls, regaining power in the state for a second consecutive term.
After being declared as CM, Dhami stated, "Firstly, I want to thank PM Narendra Modi for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to work as the CM of Uttarakhand for 5 years. We will fulfill all promises including the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the state."