Pushkar Singh Dhami takes oath as 11th chief minister of Uttarakhand
Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday took as the 11th chief minister of Uttarakhand at Raj Bhawan. He was administered the oath of office by Governor Baby Rani Maurya.
At the age of 45, Dhami became the youngest chief minister of the state.
Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat, Banshidhar Bhagat, Yashpal Arya, Bishan Singh Chuphal, Subodh Uniyal, Arvind Pandey, Ganesh Joshi, Dhan Singh Rawat, Rekha Arya, and Yatishwaranand were sworn in as ministers in Dhami's new cabinet. No new faces were sworn in.
The Uttarakhand BJP legislature party on Saturday unanimously elected Dhami, a two-time MLA from Khatima as its new leader, replacing Tirath Singh Rawat who resigned on Friday night citing constitutional factors.
Pushkar Singh Dhami takes oath as 11th chief minister of Uttarakhand
Earlier on Sunday, Dhami paid a visit to former chief minister and his immediate predecessor Tirath Singh Rawat at his Bhagirathipuram residence. He also called on former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat at his Defence Colony residence.
WHAT LIES AHEAD
- Dhami has much to set right. Be it a Covid-battered economy, a suspended Chardham yatra, a massive fake Covid testing scam during Kumbh in Haridwar or an ongoing agitation by the priests of Gangotri and Yamunotri against the Devasthanam Board, he has quite a few challenges to grapple with.
- The main challenge before Dhami lies in spurring the party to yet another victory in the state for a second consecutive term in office in 2022.
- Pushkar Singh Dhami sounded confident of overcoming the challenges with the cooperation of everyone. He also promised to carry forward the work of his predecessors and serve people with all dedication.
Pushkar Singh Dhami takes oath as 11th chief minister of Uttarakhand
WHO IS PUSHKAR SINGH DHAMI
- Dhami has been representing the Khatima seat in Uttarakhand assembly for two consecutive terms since 2012. Khatima is in Udham Singh Nagar district in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.
- Born into a family of an ex-armyman at Kanalichina in the border district of Pithoragarh, Dhami made Khatima his "karmabhoomi".
- He is considered to be close to Maharashtra Governor and former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari who was his political mentor.
- Dhami is a post graduate with a degree in law and a diploma in public administration from Lucknow University.
READ MORE: Pushkar Singh Dhami says 'will work taking everyone along'
