Pushkar Singh Dhami took oath as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on Wednesday at the Parade Ground, Dehradun. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janta Party were also present for the ceremony.

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“Pushkar Singh Dhami has been elected as the Leader of the Legislative Party. I congratulate him, I am confident that under his leadership Uttarakhand will make rapid progress,” Rajnath Singh told reporters after the recent Assembly elections.

Under Dhami’s leadership, the party registered a big win in Uttarakhand, getting 47 out of a total of seventy assembly seats in the state, the results of which were announced on March 10. 

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Dhami, however, lost in Khatima, a seat he had been winning since the 2012 Assembly polls. 

Pushkar Singh Dhami is the second alumnus of the Lucknow University to become the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. The first one was Harish Singh Rawat (2014-17). He succeeded Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned last year.

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Dhami is an advocate by profession. Born on September 16, 1975, he holds educational qualifications such as a Post Graduate degree and a management degree. From 1990 to 1999, Dhami spent a considerable amount of time in the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, BJP’s student wing, where he reportedly held various roles, including that of an organiser of the Parishad’s National Conference in Lucknow during the time.

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From 2010 to 2012, Dhami worked in the Urban Development Monitoring Council under the erstwhile IJP Government.

Rawat served as a Chief Minister for barely four months. He resigned because he is not a member of the Uttarakhand legislature and is unlikely to become one by September 10 when the six-month deadline since his swearing-in ends.