Pushkar Singh Dhami is all set to become the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand for a consecutive second term. He will take the oath today at the Parade Ground in Dehradun 2:30 pm onwards. The swearing-in ceremony is expected be a grand event and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah and other BJP leaders.
The Governor of Uttarakhand Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh will administer the oath of office to Pushkar Singh Dhami.
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Earlier in the day, Dhami went to the Tapkeshwar Mahadev temple in Dehradun to seek blessings before taking the oath as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. As per reports, the new cabinet ministers of his government will also be sworn in at the event.
The selection of Dhami as the Chief Minister for second term surprised many in the political circles as he had lost his seat in the recent assembly elections.
Dhami was defeated by Bhuwan Chandra Kapri of the Congress party from the Khatima constituency by a margin of 6,579 votes. With a vote share of 44.8% Dhami received 41,598 votes, while Kapri got 48,177 votes with a 51.89% share.
This was the first defeat for Dhami from the seat as he had won twice from Khatima in 2012 and 2017. There were other strong contenders in the party for the post of the CM. Some popular names being considered included, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Ajay Bhatt, Anil Baluni, MLA Dhan Singh Rawat and Satpal Maharaj.
Read also: Pushkar Singh Dhami to stay as Uttarakhand CM, elected legislature party leader
However, in a legislative party meeting held under the guidance of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi as central observers, the decision was taken to select Dhami as the leader of BJP legislature party in Uttarakhand.
After the announcement, Dhami said that he will ensure that the promises made before the elections are fulfilled including the implementation of uniform civil code.
