Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tirath Singh Rawat took oath as the New Chief Minister of Uttarakhand in Dehradun on Wednesday. This comes a day after Trivendra Singh Rawat stepped down as the state’s chief minister.
Tirath Singh Rawat is the BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal. He was chosen as the leader of the Uttarakhand BJP legislature party on Wednesday. This paved the way for his appointment as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand.
Tirath Singh Rawat was sworn-in as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand by Governor Baby Rani Maurya at the Raj Bhawan in Dehradun. Tirath Singh Rawat alone was sworn-in on Wednesday, which means the members of his Cabinet will be sworn-in later.
Dehradun: Tirath Singh Rawat takes oath as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/Y9U7ZAQiHl
— ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2021
Soon after he took oath as the CM of Uttarakhand, Tirath Singh Rawat was congratulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Congratulations to Shri Tirath Singh Rawat on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He brings with him vast administrative and organisational experience. I am confident under his leadership the state will continue to scale new heights of progress,” PM Modi tweeted.
Congratulations to Shri @TIRATHSRAWAT on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He brings with him vast administrative and organisational experience. I am confident under his leadership the state will continue to scale new heights of progress.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 10, 2021
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also sent his best wishes for the new Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat.
“Congratulations to Tirath Singh Rawat for becoming the CM of Uttarakhand. I have faith that under the guidance of PM Modi and your leadership, the state will get new energy and new standards of progress and public welfare will be established in Devbhoomi,” he said.
श्री @TIRATHSRAWAT जी को उत्तराखंड के मुख्यमंत्री के रूप में शपथ लेने पर शुभकामनाएं।
मुझे विश्वास है कि प्रधानमंत्री श्री @NarendraModi जी के मार्गदर्शन और आपके नेतृत्व में प्रदेश के विकास को नई ऊर्जा मिलेगी व देवभूमि में प्रगति और जनकल्याण के नये मापदंड स्थापित होंगे।
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) March 10, 2021
Tirath Singh Rawat’s appointment as the Uttarakhand chief minister comes after Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned from the post on Tuesday evening following a strong campaign against him within the party in the state.
Earlier, accompanied by party MLAs and MPs, Tirath Singh Rawat met Governor Baby Rani Maurya at the Raj Bhawan to stake his claim for forming the government.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 56 MLAs in the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly.
Tirath Singh Rawat was the state BJP president from 2013-15 and is currently the party’s national secretary.
He was also an MLA from the Chaubattakhal constituency from 2012-17.
His choice as the new chief minister by the BJP comes as a surprise as he was not among the favourites.
After being congratulated by the outgoing chief minister and BJP’s central observer and national vice-president Raman Singh, Tirath Singh Rawat thanked the top leadership of the saffron party for giving him the new responsibility.
“I have been a humble party worker. I had never imagined that I will be a given an opportunity like this by the party. I hope that with everyone’s cooperation and blessings, I will do justice to my new role,” he said.
Though he has held important organisational positions both in the state and at the Centre, Tirath Singh Rawat is a first-time MP.
He defeated his political mentor and BJP veteran Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri’s son Manish Khanduri of the Congress by over three lakh votes to win from the Pauri Garhwal seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Known as a simple and down-to-earth leader, Tirath Singh Rawat takes over the rein of power in Uttarakhand at a time when the BJP is preparing for the state Assembly polls due early next year.
