Pokhriyal to be new Uttarakhand CM

NEW DELHI: Uttarakhand health minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will be the new Chief Minister of the state in place of B C Khanduri who resigned on Tuesday owing moral responsibility for the rout of BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

51-year-old journalist-turned-politician Pokhriyal was elected unanimously leader of the BJP legislature party at the meeting of MLAs here, state Agriculture Minister Trivendra Rawat said.

Pokhriyal's name was proposed by outgoing Chief Minister Khanduri and seconded by state Tourism Minister and of the contenders for the top post Prakash Pant, Rawat and Chandan Ramdas.

Khanduri will submit his resignation to Governor B L Joshi tomorrow after which Pokhriyal and his new team will be sworn in.