Uttarakhand:CM Rawat resigns

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat handed in his resignation to the Governor on Friday night, barely four months after he took charge and just ahead of polls next year in the state. "Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. Bypolls could not be held because of COVID-19," he said in a brief statement in Hindi. Tirath Singh Rawat has become the chief minister with the shortest tenure (115 days) in Uttarakhand's history. Tirath Singh Rawat took oath as Uttarakhand's chief minister on March 10, replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat. He has until September 10 to get elected to the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly through a byelection.Speaking to reporters, he said it is the Election Commission's prerogative to hold or not conduct the bypoll, and the party will move forward accordingly.

In the wake of these developments, the BJP has asked Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar to go to Dehradun on Saturday as  an observer. The party high command has also called a meeting of the BJP MLAs at 3pm at the BJP headquarter in Dehradun on Saturday. To hold bypolls at this time would be a tough decision for the Election Commission after the massive controversy over the March-April election in five states, held alongside rising virus cases in the second surge. Tirath Rawat's brief stint was packed with controversies. The BJP's Uttarakhand leaders had complained to the Delhi leadership about public anger at some of his pronouncements.