Pushkar Singh Dhami was on Saturday elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party, paving the way for him to take over as the eleventh Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
Dhami, who is a two-time MLA from Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district, replaces Tirath Singh Rawat who resigned on Friday night.
Soon after being elected as the leader of the legislature party, Dhami thanked the party leadership for reposing faith in him and said that he will deal with the challenges lying ahead with everyone's cooperation.
"My party has appointed a common worker, son of an ex-serviceman, who was born in Pithoragarh to serve the state. We'll work together for people's welfare. We accept the challenge of serving people with the help of others, in a short time span," said Dhami.
After being picked for the top post, Dhami reached Raj Bhawan in Dehradun to meet Governor Baby Rani Maurya. It was reported that the oath taking ceremony will be held today evening itself, but Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has confirmed that Dhami will take oath tomorrow.
"During the Legislature Party meeting, it was decided to appoint Pushkar Dhami as Uttarakhand BJP legislature party leader. We went to the Governor to discuss party's decision. Oath taking ceremony to be held tomorrow," Tomar said.
Dhami's wife thanked PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and JP Nadda and the people of the Khatima constituency. "He came from a middle-class family and is aware of the problems of people," she added.
"I'm very happy but feeling a little sad that his father is not with us to see him (Pushkar Singh Dhami) as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He worked very hard for this," said Pushkar Singh Dhami's Mother Vishna Devi.
