Pushkar Singh Dhami, 11th CM of Uttarakhand, faces political stability test

The newly sworn-in Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami has by all accounts a challenge on hand to ensure political stability in the state after the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) bagged a simple majority in the state Assembly, besides expediting the completion of key infrastructure projects.

Dhami, 46, will be the 11th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

To avoid the repeat of the fate of former Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, who is a Lok Sabha MP, but had to be replaced as there was no Assembly bypoll within the six months period, Dhami needs to get elected to the state Assembly.

Among one of the top challenges for Dhami would be to maintain political stability in the state which has seen a spate of leadership changes in its short history.

Dhami, who lost from the Khatima Assembly constituency, led the party's poll effort as Chief Minister during the Assembly polls held last month, and BJP's decision to retain him is seen as recognition of his contributions.

While the BJP ranks in the state are known to be faction-ridden, Dhami will have to reconcile the political ambitions of a host of party leaders, which include some who are senior to him.

Dhami will also need to fast-track several ongoing infrastructure projects in the state.

In his short tenure as the Chief Minister of the hilly state, Dham had inaugurated several development projects.

Dhami had said that a total of Rs 137 crore has been spent on the development of the projects being inaugurated today.

"We aim to make Uttarakhand the best state in India. PM Modi visited Dehradun yesterday and inaugurated projects worth over Rs 18000 crore," Dhami had said

The Uttarakhand government under Dhami had also announced the repeal of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act after almost two years of protests against the legislation by priests associated with the shrines in the state.

The Act had brought the four shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, and 49 other temples under the purview of a shrine board.

Several names, including that of former union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni, MLA Dhan Singh Rawat and Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj were among doing the rounds as possible choices for Chief Minister.

The son of an ex-serviceman, Dhami was born in 1975 in Kanalichhina village in Pithoragarh district. He holds a law degree and worked as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteer. He also had been a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Dhami served as the president of BJP Yuva Morcha in Uttarakhand twice between 2002 and 2008. He is believed to be a protege of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Notably, Dhami belongs to the Kumaun region of the state whereas, the last two chief ministers before him were from the Garhwal region.

( With inputs from ANI )