BJP leaders meet to pick Trivendra Singh Rawat's replacement; multiple names in consideration

Names of at least half a dozen leaders, including Dhan Singh Rawat, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Satpal Maharaj, are doing the rounds to replace Rawat

A meeting of Uttarakhand BJP's legislature party is under way at the state party headquarters to decide the successor of Trivendra Singh Rawat who resigned as chief minister on Tuesday.

The meeting started at 10 am at the party office on Balbir Road. Central observer Raman Singh and state party in-charge Dushyant Gautam have also arrived here to oversee the appointment of the new chief minister. Six out of a total of seven MPs (five Lok Sabha and two Rajya Sabha) except Baluni have already arrived in the city.

Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned on Tuesday after days of speculation about a leadership change in the state.

Names of at least half a dozen leaders, including Dhan Singh Rawat, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Satpal Maharaj, are doing the rounds to replace Trivendra Singh Rawat, who resigned as the chief minister of Uttarakhand on Tuesday.

Though Trivendra Singh Rawat's substitute will be decided at a state legislature party meeting at the BJP headquarters here on Wednesday under the watch of party national vice-president and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, political circles are abuzz with speculations.

Also read — Who are the top contenders for Uttarakhand CM post?

Sources said state minister Dhan Singh Rawat has emerged as a frontrunner to be the next chief minister. A man known for his polite ways, 48-year-old Dhan Singh, a resident of Paithani village in Pauri district, is said to be close to the outgoing chief minister. Singh became an MLA for the first time in 2017.

Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj is also being looked at as a prominent contender. A former Congress heavyweight, Maharaj joined the BJP in 2014 after losing the race for chief ministership to Harish Rawat.

Also read: From 'pracharak' to CM, Trivendra Singh Rawat travelled a long way

Maharaj is an MLA from Chaubattakhal in Pauri district. He is also a spiritual guru having admirers across the country. The 69-year-old had been a Congress MP from Pauri in the past.

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank is another contender for the post. A former chief minister, Nishank is an MP from Haridwar. He was also a hill development minister in undivided Uttar Pradesh.

The name of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari is also doing the rounds. Koshyari had held the Uttarkhand chief minister's post briefly after Nityanand Swami. He has also represented the state both in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

Read more: Keen to avoid repeat of Jharkhand debacle, BJP goes for axing Rawat

Names of BJP national spokesperson Anil Baluni and former state BJP president Ajay Bhatt are also in circulation.

Baluni (50) is currently a Rajya Sabha member and his proximity with the central party leadership may help him get to the top office in the state.

Bhatt represents the Nainital constituency in the Lok Sabha. He had defeated former chief minister Harish Rawat in Nainital in the 2019 general elections.

(With inputs from PTI)