Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned and handed his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya on Tuesday.
Speaking to the media, Rawat said the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) gave him a "golden" opportunity to serve Uttarakhand for four years. He added the saffron party has now decided to give this opportunity to someone else.
"The party gave me a golden opportunity to serve this State for four years. I had never thought that I would get such an opportunity. The party has now decided that the opportunity to serve as CM should be given to someone else now," said Rawat. "I have submitted my resignation as the CM to the Governor today," he added. "BJP legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held at 10 am tomorrow at the party office," he further said.
Reportedly, several ministers and around twenty MLAs had complained against the working style of Rawat. According to ANI, several MLAs and some ministers complained about Rawat to the party leadership. Later, the BJP central high command sent Raman Singh as party observer for the emergency core group meeting, which was attended by Dushyant Gautam, general secretary in-charge of Uttarakhand BJP.
After the core group meeting, Raman Singh and Dushyant Gautam submitted their report. Their report to the party president apparently recommended a change in leadership. The party high command then summoned Trivendra Singh Rawat to Delhi.
On Monday, Rawat met with BJP president JP Nadda at the latter's residence in Delhi. Union Minister Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and BL Santhosh also met to discuss the current situation in the state in the Parliament building on the same day. Finally, Rawat resigned on Tuesday after speculation throughout the morning.
Who is the frontrunner to take his post?
Senior BJP leader and state minister Dhan Singh Rawat is the frontrunner for the chief minister's post. He represents Srinagar Garhwal constituency in the Legislative Assembly.
Ajay Bhatt and Anil Baluni, two other senior leaders from the state who are members of Parliament, are also being seen as strong probables for the top post.
According to PTI, the party may also bring in a deputy chief minister, who will be from the Kumaon region. Pushkar Singh Dhami is likely to be the deputy chief minister.
