Trivendra Singh Rawat, Close To RSS And Amit Shah, To Take Oath As Uttarakhand Chief Minister Today

Dehradun: Trivendra Singh Rawat, a former RSS pracharak, has been elected as the BJP's legislative party leader in Uttarakhand and will take oath as the Chief Minister today. The BJP's newly elected lawmakers met yesterday to elect their leader. The final decision was that of party chief Amit Shah, who had been authorised by the BJP to pick the new chief minister. Mr Rawat will take oath today in state capital Dehradun; Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Shah are scheduled to attend the ceremony.  

Like in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, the BJP swept the hill state of Uttarakhand in this year's assembly election. The party is yet to name a chief minister for Uttar Pradesh. The party however, has already established chief ministers in Goa and Manipur - states where it was not even the largest party, but swung into action quickly to build coalitions with small regional parties to form government.

An announcement on who will be Uttar Pradesh's next chief minister is expected today.

Trivendra Rawat not only has the powerful backing of the RSS, but is also seen to enjoy the confidence of Amit Shah. They worked closely together during the 2014 national election when Mr Shah had charge of UP and Mr Rawat was his deputy. He has many years of experience as a minister.

The BJP has won 57 of Uttarkhand's 70 seats in a total rout of the Congress, which ruled the state for the last five year.

Mr Rawat will be sworn in as Uttarakhand Chief Minister today at Dehradun's Parade Ground.