Dehradun, Sept 11: B C Khanduri, a former army general, was today sworn in as chief minister of Uttarakhand replacing Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, in an apparent bid by BJP to lift its sagging image following corruption charges and intra-party feuds in the state ahead of assembly polls.
Capping a two-day high voltage political drama at New Delhi, Nishank resigned this morning after being given marching orders by the party high command, paving the way for 76-year-old Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri to take the reins of the government as it braces for the February elections. After Nishank, 54, put in his papers, Khanduri was elected as the new leader of the BJP legislature party by a voice vote.
Governor Margaret Alva administered the oath of office and secrecy to Khanduri, who returns to the top post two years after he was removed by the party after it lost all the five Lok Sabha seats in the 2009 general elections.
All the eleven ministers, who were part of Nishank cabinet, have been retained by Khanduri. The cabinet ministers who took oath at the function at Rangers Ground here were Matbar Singh Kandari, Banshidhar Bhagat, Prakash Pant, Diwakar Bhatt, Madan Kaushik, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Rajendra Singh Bhandari, Govind Singh Bist, Vijaya Barthwal, Khajan Das and Balwant Singh Bhoryal.
Political observers described the move as a “face-saving formula” of the ruling BJP in the state. After B S Yeddyurappa in Karnataka, Nishank has become the second chief minister to be removed by the BJP high command in a little over a month.
Nishank, who arrived from New Delhi this morning after talks with party leadership, went to Raj Bhavan to hand over his resignation to the Governor Alva.
Nishank later told reporters, “I'm a party worker. I will do whatever the party wants me to do.”
Later, Major Gen (Retd) Khanduri, an old war-horse, was elected as the new leader by BJP MLAs unanimously at a meeting where Ravishankar Prasad and state incharge Thavar Chandra Gehlot acted as central observers.
The high-drama began unfolding on Friday with rumours that Nishank was on his way out. Sources said the decision to remove Nishank was taken by the BJP parliamentary board after assessing the political situation in Uttarakhand.
They claimed that senior BJP leader L K Advani was unhappy with the functioning of Nishank due to a string of corruption scandals.
However, party president Nitin Gadkari yesterday denied that Nishank was facing any graft charges and praised Nishank for accepting the party's decision. He had also underlined that the only reason for the change was the forthcoming polls. Nishank government had come under cloud over alleged irregularities in a Rishikesh housing project, hydro-power projects and in conduct of Mahakumbh. The party was also riddled with infighting among the camps led by Nishank, Khanduri and former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.
Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, however, said the change of guard was part of poll strategy and ruled out any kind of “groupism” in the state.
“The decision was taken unanimously and there is no groupism. Nishank will have an effective role to play in the party,” Singh told reporters in Lucknow.
Elections to the 70-member Assembly in Uttarakhand were held in early 2007. PTI
