India
The resignation came less than four months after Tirath Singh Rawat took over as Chief Minister replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat.
Updated : Jul 03, 2021, 07:23 AM IST | Edited by : Karishma Jain
Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as the chief minister of Uttarakhand on Friday and said that the decision was right given the constitutional crisis in the state. The resignation came less than four months after Tirath Singh Rawat took over as Chief Minister replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat.
"I have submitted my resignation to Governor. Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. I am thankful to the central leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for every opportunity they have given to me so far," Rawat told mediapersons.
Ending days of speculation about a change of guard in the state, Rawat handed over his resignation letter to Governor Baby Rani Maurya past 11 pm, hours after returning from Delhi where he was summoned by the top BJP leadership on Wednesday.
"Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat submitted his resignation letter from the post of Chief Minister at Raj Bhawan," tweeted Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya soon after Rawat's resignation.
Reason behind Rawat's resignation
Tirath Singh Rawat is MP from Garhwal. The resignation came amid uncertainty over bypolls in Uttarakhand, which will face assembly elections early next year.
Rawat, who took over as Chief Minister on March 10 this year, had to be elected to the state assembly within six months but there is no certainty over bypolls being held which led to political uncertainty in the state.
Apart from the norms about not holding bypolls within six months of assembly polls, the situation due to COVID-19 was also an apparent factor in the decision regarding bypolls.
New chief minister in four months
The BJP is now expected to be led by a new leader in the assembly polls and the state is likely to get its third chief minister in nearly four months.
BJP to meet today
A meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Dehradun. Uttrakhand's media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said that the meeting of party MLAs will be held under the chairmanship of state president Madan Kaushik.
"BJP legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held at 3 pm on Saturday at the party headquarters. The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of state president Madan Kaushik," Chauhan said.
BJP has named Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar as a central observer for Saturday's meeting of MLAs.
Tirath Singh Rawat had emerged as the surprise choice of the party for the top job belying all speculation when Trivendra Singh Rawat was replaced in March this year.
Trivendra Singh Rawat's name has been recommended by a section of party leaders who feel there is less than a year to go for the next assembly polls and instead of gambling on a new candidate it will be safe to reinstate Trivendra Singh Rawat as he has the experience of being at the helm.