Tirath Singh Rawat resigns as Uttarakhand CM; BJP MLAs likely to elect new leader today

Rawat had been camping in Delhi for the past three days and met with the party top brass

Barely four months after taking charge, Tirath Singh Rawat resigned from the post of Uttarakhand Chief Minister on Friday evening. Rawat handed over his resignation to the Governor amid talks of a change in guard ahead of assembly elections scheduled in the state next year.

After his resignation, Rawat said that he felt right to resign given the constitutional crisis as bypolls cannot be held at present due to COVID-19.

Rawat had been camping in Delhi for the past three days and met with the party top brass. Before handing over his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya, he met party president JP Nadda and handed over his resignation to him as well.

A Member of Parliament, Rawat took charge of state in March and had time till September 10 to get elected to the Uttarakhand assembly, but holding byelections appeared unlikely in view of the COVID-19 situation in the state.

Rawat succeeded Trivendra Singh Rawat who had to resign as majority of the MLAs were reportedly unhappy with his work and style of functioning.

Tirath Singh Rawat’s brief stint was ridden with its fair share of controversies. He not only criticized his predecessor’s policy decisions but also embarrassed the party with controversial remarks. His handling of the Kumbh Mela during the pandemic also attracted huge backlash.