Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday quit from his post amid rumblings within the party over his leadership.
The 60-year-old Rawat, who would have completed four years in office next week, handed over his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya, joining the league of chief ministers who never completed their five year tenure.
Among the eight chief ministers of Uttarakhand, which was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000, only Narayan Dutt Tiwari had enjoyed a full tenure.
Higher Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat, an MLA from Srinagar in Pauri district of the state, is tipped to be the front runner to succeed Rawat.
Political developments in the state went into an overdrive last weekend when the BJP high command dispatched emissaries -- Raman Singh and Dushyant Gautam -- to assess the pulse of the MLAs.
Rawat had flown to the national capital on Monday and met BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda where he was learnt to have been given the marching orders.
The change of guard in Uttarakhand comes an year ahead of the assembly elections.
In 2017, BJP had trounced the Congress by winning 57 seats in the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly.
(Published 09 March 2021, 11:00 IST)
JOIN US