By Online Desk
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat tendered his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya at the Raj Bhavan on Friday.
The BJP legislature party will meet at 3 p.m. on Saturday to choose a new leader for which sitting MLAs, Satpal Maharaj and Dhan Singh Rawat are said to be frontrunners. The two MLAs were called to Delhi on Friday by the BJP central leadership.
According to reports, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will be the observer for the legislative party meeting to be held at Dehradun.
Rawat who was sworn in as the Chief Minister on March 10, 2021, had become a problematic figure for the party, insiders alleged.
Sources from the government also added that Rawat resigned due to complications that arose which were related to by-elections and his entry into the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.
“The party is not so confident about the CM winning the by-elections. Apart from this, there are legal complications too. Senior leadership may also have got the whiff that the incumbent CM is unlikely to get elected given the controversies since he became the CM,” said a party insider.
It was after Rawat took charge that Kumbh Mela was extended on a ‘grand’ scale which led an increased number of coronavirus infections across the country.
Rawat’s infamous comments about ‘ripped jeans’ earlier this year also led to massive outrage on social media.
(With ENS and agency inputs)
