Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat stayed in New Delhi on Thursday after meeting with BJP leader JP Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah. Following the completion of a state BJP conference in Nainital, Rawat was summoned to New Delhi and hurried there on Wednesday.
There has been a lot of speculation since then, because Rawat has to be elected to the state legislature by September 10 to keep his job as chief minister. In March, Rawat was sworn in as the new chief minister. In the state, two assembly seats are empty. The by-poll notification must be sent out before August 5. If a legislature’s remaining term is shorter than a year, by-polls are usually not held.
The state BJP leaders remained tight-lipped about what was going on in New Delhi, stating Rawat was in town to talk about the 2022 assembly elections.
Dushyant Kumar Gautam, the BJP’s state in-charge, said coordination between the state and the Centre is important and that is why Rawat has gone to Delhi. “Also, with the next assembly elections ahead, there ought to be many issues which need to be discussed. All those would be discussed during the visit. As far as speculation is concerned, they are always there around any political personality.”
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is trying to make inroads into Uttarakhand, has announced Ajay Kothiyal, a retired army officer, will contest against Rawat from the Gangotri seat. Rawat is expected to seek his election from Gandotri. But no final call has been taken yet.
AAP leader Naveen, who uses only one name, accused the BJP of “gross injustice” to the state’s people by imposing two “rubber stamp” chief ministers on them. “First Trivendra Singh Rawat and now Tirath Singh Rawat.”
AAP has announced it will contest all 70 seats assembly seats next year. It is banking on Kothiyal’s background and his popularity in the state for his significant contribution to the reconstruction work of the Kedarnath shrine post-2013 floods.
