Pushkar Singh Dhami was appointed leader of Uttarakhand BJP’s legislature party on Saturday afternoon and is set to be sworn-in as the eleventh chief minister on Sunday.

Dhami’s appointment comes a day after Tirath Singh Rawat resigned from the post on late Friday. 

The announcement comes following a BJP legislature party meeting in Dehradun, which was attended by the party’s central observer Narendra Singh Tomar, PTI reported. 

A week-long, high-voltage drama culminated in Tirath Singh Rawat’s resignation after barely four months of becoming the chief minister. He took office on March 10 this year, replacing his predecessor Trivendra Singh Rawat, whose exit was sought by the BJP.

Also Read | Tirath Rawat’s exit: Only one U’khand CM served a full term in last 20 years

Last week, he met the core
leadership of the ruling BJP including party president JP Nadda and Home
Minister Amit Shah. Rawat’s resignation is seen as a significant move in the
state’s politics as the Uttarakhand assembly elections are due in less than a year.

Why did Tirath Singh Rawat
resign?

Since
Tirath Singh Rawat is not a member of the Uttarakhand legislature, he needed to
be elected into the assembly by September 10 in accordance with Article 164(4)
of the Indian Constitution.

However,
the Election
Commission is unlikely to hold bypolls at this point in time
because as per the Representation of the People Act a by-election for a seat
should not be held if the term of a House is less than one year.