BJP MP Tirath Singh Rawat will be the new chief minister of Uttarakhand. He replaces Trivendra Singh Rawat, who stepped down from the CM’s post on Tuesday after completing nearly 4 years in office. A year ahead of assembly elections in the state, Trivendra Singh was asked by the BJP to step down after a section of party MLAs objected to his style of functioning. The name of Tirath Singh Rawat, who represents Pauri Garhwal in Lok Sabha, was announced after a meeting of the BJP legislative body held in the morning. Senior BJP leaders Raman Singh and Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ flew down to Dehradun for the meeting. Following the party norms, former CM Trivendra singh Rawat proposed the name of Tirath for the post of CM and it was supported by all the party MLAs and MPs, who were present. The swearing in ceremony for Tirath Singh Rawat has been scheduled for 4 pm today at Raj Bhavan.

Modi and Amit Shah are known to back the chief ministers appointed by them staunchly even in the face of resentment by respective Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State units, pressure from the public opinion, and even from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The case of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who was asked to quit by party chief J.P. Nadda on Tuesday is peculiar in certain ways.

Char Dham Devasthanam Management Bill and the setting up of the Gairsain Commissionerate are the two main decisions which had been headaches for the BJP state unit in Uttarakhand, which is considered to be the reason of departure of Trivendra Singh Rawat.

The CDD Management Bill brought 51 shrines, including Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, under the control of the State government, with a limited role for those managing the affairs of these shrines till now. Adding districts to the new Gairsain Commissionerate from both Garhwal and Kumaon areas was another trigger point. Garhwal has traditionally gone with the BJP while Kumaon has been tricky for the party, but the addition of the sub-division of Badrinath and Kedarnath from Garhwal to the commissionerate meant that even this stronghold would possibly fall in the coming elections in February. State leaders alleged that no one was consulted before these decisions whereas party leaders were left holding the can of public resentment and political backlash.

Soon after being named the new CM, Tirath said, “I started my career as a RSS member and was not aware of the political scene. In 1985, I met former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and under his leadership moved ahead in the field of politics.”