New Delhi. An important meeting of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders was held at the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday amid the ongoing exercise for government formation in Uttarakhand. According to sources, the top leaders of the party consulted the leaders of the state BJP in this meeting regarding the name of the future Chief Minister.
Uttarakhand BJP Legislative Party will meet tomorrow evening in Dehradun. I am leaving for Dehradun now: Uttarakhand caretaker CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, at Delhi pic.twitter.com/DSNl2pMPth
— ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2022
According to information received from sources, BJP President JP Nadda, organization general secretary BL Santosh and state’s central election in-charge Prahlad Joshi were present in this meeting. These leaders discussed the name of the leader of the legislature party from Uttarakhand’s caretaker Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, State President Madan Kaushik, former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, senior leader Satpal Maharaj and former Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
After the meeting, Kaushik told reporters that on Monday, all the newly elected MLAs would be sworn in in the assembly and after that there would be a meeting of the legislature party. It is to be known that in Uttarakhand, BJP got a landslide majority, but Chief Minister Dhami had to face defeat from Khatima. In such a situation, the round of brainstorming continues in the BJP regarding who will lead the government. According to sources, despite the defeat, Dhami is leading the race for the chief minister’s post. Dhami’s presence in the ongoing meeting at Shah’s residence also indicates this. However, sources say that Chaubattakhal MLA Satpal Maharaj, Srinagar MLA Dhan Singh Rawat and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni are also among the contenders for the chief minister’s post.
Uttarakhand govt formation | BJP President JP Nadda and party leaders BL Santosh and Satpal Maharaj also arrive at the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi pic.twitter.com/tkPxU6l9yO
— ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2022
For the BJP Legislature Party meeting, the BJP has made Defense Minister Rajnath Singh as central observer and Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi as co-observer. Sources in the BJP’s Uttarakhand unit said Dhami is more likely to become the chief minister again as he is not only young and energetic, but the BJP had contested elections in his name in the hill state and registered a resounding victory. According to sources, another major reason why the party decided to seal Dhami’s name could be that it had faced a lot of criticism for replacing two chief ministers in a very short span of time in the previous term.
“If Keshav Prasad Maurya, who lost his seat in the Uttar Pradesh elections, can be made deputy chief minister again, why can’t Dhami be made chief minister,” a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity. However, sources said that if the party decides to select a new face, it will be important to strike a balance between regional and caste. Since Ajay Bhatt, a Brahmin leader from Kumaon, has already been made a Union Minister of State, a Thakur or Rajput leader from Garhwal could be chosen for the post of Chief Minister to strike a regional and caste balance. If this happens, Satpal Maharaj or Dhan Singh Rawat, the prominent Thakur leader of Garhwal, could emerge as the preferred face for the chief minister’s post.