Pushkar Singh Dhami set to return as Uttarakhand CM for second term

Chief Minister Dhami unexpectedly lost against Congress’ Bhuwan Kapri by nearly 7,000 votes in Khatima, a seat he had been winning since the 2012 Assembly polls.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday decided to elect Pushkar Singh Dhami as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, despite him losing the Assembly election 2022 from Khatima, at least for six months.

Chief Minister Dhami unexpectedly lost against Congress’ Bhuwan Kapri by nearly 7,000 votes in Khatima, a seat he had been winning since the 2012 Assembly polls.

However, a section of BJP leaders credited Dhami for the party’s big win, bagging 47 out of 70 assembly seats, and wanted him to be the chief minister again so that he gets a full five-year term.

The decision was announced following the legislative party meeting of the BJP that was attended by the saffron party’s central observers for Uttarakhand - Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi and the party’s poll incharge for the state Pralhad Joshi.

“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,” Rajnath Singh told news agency ANI after the meeting.

According to reports, the new Chief Minister will take oath on March 23.

Political observers, quoted by news agency PTI, also credit BJP’s success in Uttarakhand elections to Dhami. They said his contribution to the party's good electoral performance cannot be overlooked.

However, if the party goes for a new face, the necessity to strike a caste and regional balance will be a deciding factor. The party will also try to give a CM who can keep his flock together and completes the whole five-year term, experts feel.

Dhami under whose leadership the BJP had contested the February 14, Assembly polls in Uttarakhand, was the frontrunner among around half a dozen names doing the rounds.