BJP retains Pushkar Singh Dhami as Uttarakhand Chief Minister despite election loss

Pushkar Singh Dhami to continue as Uttarakhand CM.

Pushkar Singh Dhami will be getting a second term as the chief minister of Uttarakhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said after the legislature party meeting on Monday, March 21.

"Pushkar Singh Dhami has been elected as the Leader of the Legislative Party. I congratulate him, I am confident that under his leadership Uttarakhand will make rapid progress," Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister and BJP's central observer for Uttarakhand, said in Dehradun, as per ANI.

The announcement of Uttarakhand CM comes after a suspense of 11 days, as there was a dilemma to chose Dhami as CM again. His loss in Khatima, a seat he had been winning since the 2012 Assembly polls, was the reason for it.  However, he was still the frontrunner of the post.

The other names which were also doing the rounds include Uttarakhand general secretary Suresh Bhatt, MP Anil Baluni, legislators Dhan Singh Rawat, Satpal Maharaj, and Ritu Khanduri, and MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

The BJP legislative party meeting to elect the new CM was attended by BJP's central observers for Uttarakhand Rajnath Singh, Meenakshi Lekhi, and the party's poll in charge for the state, Pralhad Joshi.

The party had won 47 of the 70 seats in the Assembly polls, the results of which were announced on March 10.

The fate of CMs in other BJP won states

The BJP won elections in four out of five states that went to the polls recently. Out of those four, three CMs have been declared. Dhami's announcement of CM comes a day after, N Biren Singh was also announced as CM of Manipur for the second time. 

Singh's name was chosen by BJP's central observers Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union law and justice minister Kiren Rijiju after they went to Imphal and attended a meeting held at state BJP headquarters on Sunday.

When it comes to Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will take oath for his second term on March 25. But there has been no word on the size of his cabinet or the names finalised for various ministries.

On March 20, it was reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a crucial meeting on the government formation in Uttar Pradesh. Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were also said to be present at the meeting.

Finally, for Goa, there is no clarity yet on who will emerge as the CM. The BJP is expected to hold the much-awaited legislature party meeting today and call on the governor to stake a claim to form the government.

The saffron party won 20 seats in the 40-member House and secured the support of two MLAs of MGP and three Independents. This will be the third straight term of BJP in Goa. Even though BJP leader and caretaker chief minister Pramod Sawant is the clear favourite he faces some opposition.