Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya on March 9 amid reports of disquiet within the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) state unit.
Rawat, 60, who would have completed four years in office next week, handed his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya who has accepted it.
How did it all start?
The political temperatures were sent soaring in Uttarakhand on March 6 when an unscheduled meeting of Uttarakhand BJP's core committee was presided over by party’s national vice president and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, who landed in Dehradun along with state BJP in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam on the same day. The speculation were further validated when the Budget session of Uttarakhand Assembly, was adjourned sine die in summer capital Gairsain on March 6, a day before schedule. Rawat, many state ministers and MLAs flew from Gairsain to Dehradun in choppers. Rawat left the meeting even as Raman Singh and Dushyant Kumar Gautam continued with other leaders and MLAs.
READ : History repeats itself in Uttarakhand as Trivendra Rawat quits a year before his full tenure
Why was Rawat in Delhi?
Rawat was summoned by the BJP leadership based on the feedback gathered by the two observers - Raman Singh and Dushyant Kumar Gautam from the ground, according to the sources. On March 8, Rawat met BJP president JP Nadda, hours after Union home minister Amit Shah and party general secretary BL Santhosh had series of meetings with the party chief. Rawat returned to Uttarakhand on March 9 and resigned later in the day.
What made him to step down?
After submitting his resignation, Rawat thanked the BJP leadership for providing him an opportunity to serve as the chief minister for four years. He said this was a golden opportunity of his life. The party, the outgoing chief minister said, has now decided that the opportunity should be given to someone else.
“There was an internal party discussion and a consensus emerged that someone else must now be given the responsibility of the state,” he said.
There have been reports that a section of the BJP leaders from Uttarakhand were not happy with Rawat’s leadership. They believed that he may not be able to lead the party to success in the elections due in February 2022.
Sources said that Raman Singh and Dushyant Kumar Gautam, the two leaders who visited Uttarakhand, also met the MLAs, ministers, and RSS leaders in the hill state. The two leaders, sources said, on their return informed the top brass in New Delhi, that Rawat had ended as an ‘uninspiring’ leader among MLAs and was losing his grip over the state. His style of functioning was also being questioned by some leaders.
The party, sources said, felt that the resentment over the way he functioned and the losing control over the government could cast it the 2022 assembly polls.
Corruption Charges?
The outgoing CM also faced graft charges. In October 2020, the Supreme Court stayed a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Rawat two days after the high court had directed the agency to investigate an alleged bribery case involving him before he became the CM.
The corruption allegations, levelled by two journalists, were about alleged money transfer to the accounts of purported relatives of Rawat in 2016 to support the appointment of a person as head of ''Gau Seva Ayog'' of Jharkhand when Rawat was the in-charge of BJP unit there.
Rawat has denied these allegations. The Supreme Court is hearing the case.
Who will replace him?
Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni and one of the ministers in the outgoing CM’s cabinet, Dhan Singh Rawat are front runners in the race to replace him as CM . Till a new CM takes charge, Trivendra Singh continues to be the acting CM. The BJP legislative party meeting will be held on March 10.
The BJP may appoint deputy chief minister, too. News agency PTI reported that Pushkar Singh Dhami, a member of the Legislative Assembly from the Khatima constituency, is the frontrunner for the post of deputy chief minister.
The BJP came to power in Uttarakhand by bagging 57 seats in the 70-member legislative assembly in 2017.
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