Janjivan Bureau / Dehradon : Tirath Singh Rawat was on Wednesday sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Rawat is the MP from Pauri Garhwal. Rawat had resigned as chief minister on Tuesday.
While names of several leaders, including Dhan Singh Rawat, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Satpal Maharaj were doing the rounds to replace Trivendra Singh Rawat, the BJP sprung a surprise by selecting Tirath Singh as Chief Minister of the state that goes to polls next year.
A meeting of Uttarakhand BJP’s legislature party was held at the state party headquarters in Dehradun.
CM Rawat resigned on Tuesday after days of speculation about a leadership change in the state.
The outgoing CM announced the name of Tirath Singh Rawat. The oath-taking ceremony will be held at 4 pm on Wednesday.
Tirath Singh Rawat, who has served as the state BJP president, comes from the RSS background.
Tirath Singh Rawat thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party’s central leadership for entrusting him with the responsibility.
Tirath Singh Rawat said that as someone coming from a small village he never imagined that one day he would be the chief minister. “I am a small karyakarta of the party connected with the grassroots. I never imagined I would be given such an important responsibility,” he said.
“Challenges are always there,” he said responding to the responsibility of steering the party to victory in the next election.
Sources said the decision was taken by the central leadership keeping in mind the prevailing political situation and caste and regional factors.
State president Bansidhar Bhagat described Tirath Singh Rawat as someone connected with the grassroots who understoods the organisation well. The organisation would work well under him, he said.
