Ramesh Pokhriyal to be the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand

New Delhi June24 (ANI): Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will be the New Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu announced this after the meeting of the Uttarakhand BJP legislative party in New Delhi.

Naidu said that the outgoing Chief Minister B C Khanduri proposed the name of Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, and was seconded by Prakash Pant, Rawat and Chandan Ramdas.

Besides Naidu, senior party leaders Thawar Chand Gehlot, dissident leader Bhagat singh Koshiyari and state unit president Bachchi Singh Rawat were present in the meeting.

The 51-year-old journalist, poet-turned-politician Pokhriyal was holding the Health portfolio in the out going Khanduri's cabinet.

Born on August 15, 1958 at Pinani in Pauri district,Ramesh Pokhriyal represents the Thalisen constituency from Ghadwal region in the Assembly.

He started his career in active politics with the Ram Mandir Movement. In 1991 he was elected to the Uttar Pradesh assembly from Karnaprayag and became the Hill development minister in the Kalyan Singh Government. He retained Karnaprayag in 1993, and 1996 elections.

When the first Uttaranchal Governement was formed, Pokhriyal revolted against the then Chief Minister Nityanand Swami, after which he was accommodated in the state cabinet as Finance Minister.

Nishank lost the election from Thalisan in 2002, but regained it in 2007 to become a Minister in Khanduri government.

Lt Gen (Rtd) B C Khanduri has resigned from Chief Minister's post owning moral responsibility to the party's poor performance in Uttaranchal in the recently concluded general elections.(ANI)