Pushkar Singh Dhami sworn in as new Uttarakhand CM, 10 others administered oath as cabinet ministers

At 45, Dhami takes over as the youngest chief minister of Uttarakhand

Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday took oath as the 11th chief minister of Uttarakhand, capping an end to the fast-paced developments of the change of guard in the hill-state for the second time in four months.

Dhami, 45, is the youngest chief minister of Uttarakhand and has a tough task at hand to steer the state by managing bruised egos of many veteran cabinet ministers who were also aspirants for the top post.

Before taking the oath of office and secrecy at the Raj Bhawan in Dehradun on Sunday evening, Dhami called on former chief ministers Tirath Singh Rawat, Trivendra Singh Rawat and Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri. He also called on senior minister Satpal Maharaj, who was one of the top contenders for the post of the chief minister.

“I have been working among youngsters and I understand the issues very well. Covid has impacted their livelihood. We will try to make the situation better for them and we will try to appoint youngsters for the vacant posts in the state,” he said after taking the oath.

Read | Pushkar Singh Dhami pays courtesy calls on former Uttarakhand CMs

BJP leaders had to work overtime to put up a show of unity at the swearing-in ceremony on the Raj Bhawan lawns and Dhami, seated next to Governor Baby Rani Maurya, was seen making some last-minute phone calls from the dias before taking the oath of office.

According to reports from Dehradun, Dhami was to be sworn-in alone on Sunday, but unease among the ministers forced the BJP to repeat the entire council of ministers under his predecessor.

Ten ministers – Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat, Bansidhar Bhagat, Yashpal Arya, Bishan Singh Chuphal, Subodh Uniyal, Ganesh Joshi, Dhan Singh Rawat, Rekha Arya and Yatishwaranand – took the oath of office and secrecy along with Dhami.

A two-time MLA from Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district, Dhami replaces Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned on Friday.

Dhami takes over the reins of power at a time when the Uttarakhand Assembly election is just seven months away.

Dhami, a promising young Thakur leader from the Kumaon region, began his political career with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the RSS, in 1990.