Not part of Uttarakhand CM race: Trivendra Singh Rawat ahead of BJP legislature meet

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Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and BJP leader Trivendra Singh Rawat on Saturday said that he is not in the race to become chief minister following the resignation of Tirath Singh Rawat from the post.

"Neither was I part of the race earlier, nor today. The legislative party leader will be elected at the meeting today," Trivendra told reporters here when asked about his candidature for CM post again.

"Had he (Tirath Singh Rawat) not resigned, it would have led to Constitutional crisis. In some states, bypolls were delayed due to Covid. Circumstances have led to this situation. The leader to be elected at today's legislature meet," he added.

Trivendra Singh Rawat took oath as Uttarakhand Chief Minister after the 2017 Assembly polls. However, he tendered his resignation from the CM post after some BJP MLAs complained to the party's central leadership about his working style.

"The people of Uttarakhand are educated people and will take it naturally. At the time of Salt's bye-election, the Chief Minister was sick. A leader can contest elections only when he is completely fit," the BJP leader said further.

He further said that it is certain that BJP will win the 2022 elections. The Legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held at 3 pm today.

Speaking on 2022 Uttarakhand elections, BJP MP Ajay Bhatt said that BJP will win more seats than Congress and they will get an answer during counting.

"BJP does not compromise on safety and betterment of the people-- First nation, then party and finally us is our motto. We will win more seats than Congress; they will get an answer during counting," Bhatt said.

Tirath Singh Rawat resigned amid uncertainty over bypolls in Uttarakhand, which will face assembly elections early next year.

Tirath Singh Rawat, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal, took over as the Chief Minister on March 10 this year. To continue as the chief minister, he had to be elected to the state assembly within six months since he was not an MLA.

Former Uttarakhand minister and Congress leader Navprabhat had earlier this week written to the Election Commission urging it to "clear the confusion" in the state regarding bypolls.

The Congress leader quoted Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which mandates that the Election Commission fill the casual vacancies in state legislatures through bye-elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more.

The BJP swept the elections in 2017, winning 57 seats in the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly. Congress, on the other hand, won just 11 seats.

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