Amid Holi 'Delay' and Suspense on CM Decision, Uttarakhand MLAs to Take Oath on Monday

Though results to the Uttarakhand polls were announced on March 10, BJP is understood to have waited for the Holi festival and the period of 'Holashtak' to end and a period considered 'auspicious’ according to the almanac to start before the new government is formed.

The Wire Staff

amid holi delay and suspense on cm decision uttarakhand mlas to take oath on monday

Uttarakhand Minister Ganesh Joshi with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami celebrate with colours during the Holi Milan programme, at his residence, in Dehradun, Friday, March 18, 2022. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: The suspense over whether Bharatiya Janata Party will continue with chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Uttarakhand or bring in a new face following his loss in the assembly polls continues with the party not offering any leads on the decision process.

Though senior central and state party leaders met at the residence of Union home minister and former party president Amit Shah and then at the residence of former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, all that state BJP president Madan Kaushik announced was that MLAs will first take oath from 11 am on Monday, March 21, and then a legislative party meeting will decide the leader.

The meeting at Shah’s residence was attended by BJP national president J.P. Nadda, BJP organisation secretary B.L. Santosh, Dhami, state BJP president Kaushik, former Uttarakhand chief ministers Pokhriyal and Trivendra Singh Rawat, Rajya Sabha MP and party national spokesperson Anil Baluni, Lok Sabha MP from Nainital Udham Singh Nagar and Union minister of state for Defence, Ajay Bhatt, among others.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP MPs from Uttarakhand, Ajay Tamta, Ramesh Pokhriyal, Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Tirath Singh Rawat, Naresh Bansal, Ajay Bhatt, and Anil Baluni, and BJP National General Secretary Dushyant Gautam, during their meeting after BJPs victory in recent Uttarakhand Assembly elections, in New Delhi. Photo: PTI

Following this meeting, in which some major decisions were expected, most of the leaders moved to Pokhriyal's house for further discussions. Apart from the decision on who would be the next chief minister, the party also has to decide on Cabinet ministers, the Speaker and other positions in the government.

Though the results to the Uttarakhand polls were announced on March 10, BJP is understood to have waited for the Holi festival and the period of 'Holashtak' to end and a period considered 'auspicious’ according to the almanac to start before the new government is formed.

Several rounds of discussions have already taken place between senior state and central leaders over the last 10 days.

While the party had gone into the polls under the leadership of Dhami, who was made the state chief minister only last July, it was pushed into a spot as Dhami lost his election from Khatima. Overall, BJP managed to win 47 seats in the 70-member House. This was the first time that any party has managed to return to retain majority in the state.

On March 14, the BJP parliamentary board appointed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as observer and Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi as co-observer for Uttarakhand. Both are expected to travel to Dehradun tomorrow to oversee the legislative party meeting where the legislators will elect their new leader.

This article went live on March twentieth, two thousand twenty two, at twenty-nine minutes past two in the afternoon.

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