Know more about the youngest CM of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami

Amid political turbulence in Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami will be the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, ending day-long speculation about a change of guard in the state. This comes after the former Chief Minister Trivdendra Singh Rawat had a visit to the national capital early where he was summoned by the top BJP leadership. Subsequently, he handed over his resignation to the state Governor Baby Rani Maurya late-night. 

Youngest chief minister of the state

Dhami, the 45-year-old two time MLA from Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district, will be the youngest chief minister of the state, a successor of Rawat, who resigned within four months of taking charge from Trivendra Singh Rawat. Before Dhami, the crown of becoming the youngest chief minister was headed by Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who took the charge of the office at the age of 49.

Know more about Uttarakhand CM: Journey from a farmer to a lawyer

Dhami has been long associated with BJP's youth wing in Uttarakhand, having a stronghold over the state's student politics. Pushkar Singh Dhami was also a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)-- the student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-- till the year 1999. Later, he became the chief of the state unit of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha till 2008.

Dhami, in his self-declared affidavit filed during the Uttarakhand assembly elections, had mentioned his profession as a 'farmer'. However, during the 2017 Assembly elections, he changed his profession as a qualified lawyer holding an LLB degree from Lucknow University. 

What did Dhami say after his name surfaced for new Uttarakhand CM

Soon after Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced about the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister-elect, Dhami said,

"BJP has designated a common worker, son of an ex-serviceman, who was born in the border district of Pithoragarh to serve the people. We will work on people's issues with the cooperation of all. I will try my best to carry forward the work done by my predecessors."

Political turbulence in Uttarakhand 

The Bhartiya Janata Party had replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat with Tirath Singh Rawat early in March this year, hoping to go into the assembly polls with the new face. However, the plan failed and he too was asked to step down as the Constitution required him to get elected as a member of the state assembly within six months of his appointment as CM.

There are also some reports surfaced which state that the Election Commission holding by-polls at this stage is quite uncertain. On Friday, the names of nearly half a dozen MLAs were doing the rounds for the top leadership of the state, including Chaubattakhal MLA Satpal Maharaj, Khatima MLA Pushkar Singh Dhami and Shrinagar MLA Dhan Singh Rawat.