Having lost, will Dhami return as Uttarakhand CM? Speculation on

Some leaders point to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign speech in which he said that the 'young state of Uttarakhand will have a young chief minister'

With incumbent Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami losing the election despite his party returning to power, all eyes have now turned to Uttarakhand on the question of who will helm the government in the hill state.

Despite losing the battle, the BJP leadership may consider retaining him as chief minister amid reports that he lost due to internal sabotage. Some leaders point to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign speech when he said that the “young state of Uttarakhand will have a young chief minister”.

However, there is no official word on who will get the mantle even as names of MPs Ramesh Nishank Pokhriyal, BJP media head Anil Baluni, Minister of State Ajay Bhatt, Dhan Singh Rawat, Satpal Maharaj and Arvind Pandey are doing the rounds.

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Some state leaders are of the view that Dhami was returning as chief minister as he had got a few days in the chair as he came in after Tirath Singh Rawat could not be elected within six months of assuming office.

Dhan Singh Rawat is a minister in the Dhami cabinet while Pandey, a three-time MLA, has broken the jinx of education ministers in Uttarakhand losing the electoral battle. Maharaj is also keen to assume the chair but his earlier association with Congress as well as the rebellion on the issue of chief ministership may go against him.

Pokhriyal, a former chief minister, was the education minister in the Modi government but was removed in a reshuffle. Baluni’s name is also in the reckoning and he has worked closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

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