A sudden leadership change not new to Uttarakhand

A likely change in leadership in Uttarakhand, following the resignation of chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday, is reminiscent of the 2007-2012 period when the state saw a change in the role on three occasions.

In 2007, B C Khanduri was elected as the chief minister but continued only for 841 days (more than two years) in office. In 2009, he was replaced by now Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal who stayed in office for 805 days (more than two years) till 2011. In September that year, Khanduri made a comeback to serve for another 184 days in the top job.

“The state came into being in 2000, but has had only one chief minister - Congress’s ND Tiwari - who completed a full term. Between 2012 and 2017, Vijay Bahuguna was in the chief minister’s chair for about more than a year. He was replaced by Harish Rawat who completed three stints as chief minister; there was also President’s rule for 25 days in between,” a BJP state functionary said, wishing not to be named.

While former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who was voted to power in February 2017, resigned in March this year amid fierce dissent BJP cadre, Tirath stepped down from the post on Friday.

A second party functionary said the frequent changes could affect the party’s performance in the state election.

“If the current chief minister is replaced because of a technical reason, it will be difficult to convince the people that he was removed for administrative purposes. It gives the opposition ammunition against the BJP,” the functionary said on condition of anonymity.

Incidentally, there is speculation that Pokriyal is also in the list of contenders for the top post.