Pushkar Singh Dhami, Who Lost Election, To Return As Uttarakhand Chief Minister

Pushkar Singh Dhami's name was finalised at the BJP legislative party meeting that was attended by BJP's central observers for Uttarakhand Rajnath Singh, Meenakshi Lekhi.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. (Getty Images)

New Delhi: Pushkar Singh Dhami is set to return as Uttarakhand's Chief Minister after he was elected as the leader of the state BJP legislature party. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on March 23.

Confirming the development, Defence Minister and BJP's central observer for Uttarakhand Rajnath Singh said, "Pushkar Singh Dhami has been elected as the Leader of the Legislative Party. I congratulate him, I am confident that under his leadership Uttarakhand will make rapid progress."

Dhami's name was finalised at the BJP legislative party meeting that was attended by BJP's central observers for Uttarakhand Rajnath Singh, Meenakshi Lekhi and the party's poll in-charge for the state Pralhad Joshi.

उत्तराखंड में भाजपा विधायक दल की बैठक में श्री @pushkardhami को नेता चुने जाने पर मैं हार्दिक बधाई और शुभकामनाएँ देता हूँ।

मुझे पूरा विश्वास है कि प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi के दिशा निर्देशन में और धामीजी के नेतृत्व में उत्तराखंड का बहुआयामी और बहुत तेज़ गति से विकास होगा।

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 21, 2022

After being elected the leader of the BJP legislative party, Dhami thanked people of the state for voting the BJP to power for a second consecutive term.

"The state's development will be given a fillip and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's grand vision for the development of Uttarakhand will be turned into a reality," he said. Uttarakhand will be made a leading state over the next 10 years, he said.

Besides Dhami, Chaubattakhal MLA Satpal Maharaj, Shrinagar MLA Dhan Singh Rawat and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni were among the top contenders for the top post. 

BJP won 47 of 70 Assembly seats in the Uttarakhand polls, regaining power in the state for a second consecutive term.

Pushkar Singh Dhami, however, was defeated in his Khatima seat in the Udhamsingh Nagar district.

Pushkar Singh Dhami resigned as Uttarakhand CM on March 11 after losing the Khatima seat by a margin of 6,579 votes to Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri.

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 so that he gets a full five-year term to deliver on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of development for the state, PTI reported.

Dhami was brought in as a replacement for Tirath Singh Rawat towards the fag end of its tenure in July 2021.