Image Credit: twitter.com/TIRATHSRAWAT
The power circles are abuzz about Uttarakhand seeing a third Chief Minister in four months after the current CM Tirath Singh Rawat was called for an urgent meeting with home minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda on Wednesday night. What further added to the speculation was the fact that Tirath was prevented from returning to the state on Thursday evening. The event is reminiscent of how the former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat was called summoned abruptly in March 2021 and asked to resign from his post.
Notably, Tirath was appointed as the new CM of Uttarakhand in March and must get elected to the state assembly by September 10 to retain his post. However, BJP sources have revealed to IANS that the party is not keen to hold a bypoll and may instead ask Tirath Rawat to resign.
Section 151 of the Representation of Peoples Act 1951 makes it mandatory to conduct elections within 6 months of the creation of a vacancy.
The possibility of a change of guard increased the political activity in Uttarakhand among the possible candidates for the CM’s post. The tourism minister in the current government, Satpal Maharaj, went to the national capital on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the former CM Trivendra Rawat had a meeting with the Juna Akhada chief. The anger among the seer community was seen as a reason for his removal from the top post earlier this year.
However, the spokesperson for the Uttarakhand government, Subodh Uniyal, tried to play down the significance of the visit, arguing that Rawat’s meeting was a “routine visit”. “They had an extensive discussion related to 2022 assembly polls,” he said.