Uttarakhand: BJP bets big on young turk Pushkar Singh Dhami

Dehradun: Pushkar Singh Dhami, two times MLA from Khatima of Udham Singh Nagar, became the youngest chief minister of Uttarakhand on Sunday.

The development came in wake of the resignation of Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday night owing to a constitutional crisis as the Lok Sabha MP found it difficult to become the Member of Legislative Assembly before September 10, the six-month period granted as per the law.

Dhami was elected for the coveted post in a high-level meeting of BJP Uttarakhand leaders with the central observers Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP general secretary D Purandareshwari.

It seems the BJP was looking for a young and fresh face with a clear image as the party was on the spot over the corruption charges against former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and alleged RT/PCR scam and COVID-19 mismanagement in Haridwar Kumbh Mela during the tenure of Tirath.

The 45-year-old Dhami, neither belongs to the pedigree of politicians nor became an MLA by chance. He crafted his own journey.

During his early years, he was associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and later became a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and worked with the students' outfit for almost 10 years before joining the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

Dhami remained the president of the BJYM from 2002 to 2008. His tenure was marked with many farmers' protests which he led during the tenure of senior Congressman N D Tiwari.

He was later appointed as the general secretary and vice-president of the BJP unit of Uttarakhand.

In 2012, he contested on the BJP ticket from the Khatima constituency and became a member of the state Legislative Assembly. He retained the seat in the 2017 Assembly polls.

“My party has appointed a common worker, son of an ex-serviceman, who was born in Pithoragarh to serve the state. We will work together for people’s welfare. We accept the challenge of serving people with everyone’s help, in a short period,” said Dhami after his election.

Dhami is a law graduate and party workers describe him as an active worker. He is also known to be the close aid of Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, a former BJP veteran and now the Governor of Maharashtra.

But the road ahead for Dhami is not smooth. Uttarakhand will be going to polls next year and several frictions within BJP workers have emerged. Also, the state is reeling under economic crisis as footfall of tourists has dropped drastically due to COVID-19 and religious tourism remains suspended.

Dhami has more to do in less time as Uttarakhand will go to the Assembly polls next year. (UNI)