No return likely for Pushkar Singh Dhami as Uttarakhand Chief Minister; new name after Holi

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to announce the name of the next chief minister of Uttarakhand after Holi.

This is expected once party leaders from the state meet in New Delhi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from his Gujarat tour.

Sources said the CM might be elected from among the new MLAs. They ruled out the return of Pushkar Singh Dhami - who had lost the recently concluded election - as chief minister.


"BJP's two observers - Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal - will attend the meeting to be held in Delhi to discuss the process for government formation in Uttarakhand in the coming week," a source in the party said.

According to the source, senior leaders associated with the BJP's Uttarakhand unit will also be present at the meeting.

Both Goyal and Pradhan will come to Dehradun after the meeting and hold consultations with the newly elected MLAs, the source added.

The BJP leadership may prefer a young face like Dhami to take over as the next chief minister in the state, party sources said.

"Dhami remained an active CM after taking oath in July last year. He ensured proper coordination between the state government and the party organization," a source in the BJP said. New faces will be also inducted into the new ministry, the person said.

Meanwhile, Dhami submitted his resignation to governor, Lt Gen (retd) Gurmit Singh, on Friday evening.