Uttarakhand CM to take oath on March 18; PM Modi may also attend event

DEHRADUN: Even though there is suspense over who will become the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, the state administration has begun preparations for the oath-taking ceremony at the Parade Ground here. According to the initial plan, the CM may take oath on March 18. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the ceremony.

Sources said the state government has received a tentative plan for Modi’s visit to Dehradun to attend the oath-taking ceremony. “This is tentative plan for the PM’s visit to the state. His minute-by-minute programme is yet to come,” a source in the government told ET on Thursday afternoon.

The administration has arranged 30,000 chairs to accommodate guests at the ceremony.

“We are supposed to give a final shape to the preparation by tomorrow morning,” an employee of Public Works Department said. This clearly indicates that the oath-taking ceremony would be a grand show.

Meanwhile, chief secretary Ramaswami held meeting with senior officials to review the security arrangement for the ceremony.

Later in the day, BJP, in a press release, said that legislature party leaders will meet on March 17 to finalise who will be Uttarakhand’s next chief minister.

“The meeting of newlyelected MLAs will be held on March 17 and the oathtaking ceremony on March 18,” Naresh Bansal, BJP’s state general secretary, told ET. He added that the state administration was in touch with BJP’s state president Ajay Bhatt.

Former minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and former speaker of the state assembly Prakash Pant are considered to be among the frontrunners for the top post of Uttarakhand.

Besides them, the names of Satpal Maharaj and Dhan Singh Rawat are also doing the rounds. BJP has its four former chief ministers — BC Khanduri, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Vijay Bahuguna and Ramesh Chandra Pokhriyal “Nishank”.

As BJP has got a massive mandate by winning 58 seats in the 70-member state assembly, the party’s central leadership is perhaps in no mood to leave anything to chance to ensure a performing government in the state.

“Within two years, the new government is supposed to deliver as per the people’s expectation. BJP’s central leadership has already kept the 2019 LS polls in its mind. So, it may be looking for a CM who can coordinate with the centre for the state’s proper development,” a source said.