Pushkar Singh Dhami sworn in as Uttarakhand CM

New Delhi, July 04: Pushkar Singh Dhami was sworn in as the 11th chief minister of Uttarakhand on Sunday, a day after he was elected as leader of the BJP legislature party in the hill state where assembly polls are due next year.

Dhami, 45, is the youngest chief minister of the state and replaces Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned on Friday night within four months of taking charge from Trivendra Singh Rawat.

The oath of office was administered on Dhami and his ministers by Governor Baby Rani Maurya at a simple function held on the lawns of the Raj Bhawan in the presence of a host of MPs and MLAs of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and senior government officials.

No new face has been inducted into Dhami''s cabinet, which remains as it was under his predecessor Tirath Singh Rawat. The only difference is that this time, all the ministers are of cabinet rank.

The ministers sworn in on Sunday are Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat, Bansidhar Bhagat, Yashpal Arya, Bishan Singh Chufal, Subodh Uniyal, Arvind Pandey, Ganesh Joshi, Dhan Singh Rawat, Rekha Arya and Yatishwaranand.

Rekha Arya, Dhan Singh Rawat and Yatishwaranand, who were ministers of state in Tirath Rawat''s cabinet, have been elevated to cabinet rank.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Pushkar Singh Dhami on being sworn in as the chief minister of Uttarakhand and wished the CM and his team of ministers for working towards the progress and prosperity of the state.

As Dhami takes over less than a year ahead of the next assembly elections, his biggest challenge lies in leading the BJP to another victory and retaining power in Uttarakhand, where the party has been plagued by factionalism.

Changing chief ministers twice in a short span has not helped the party's image, with the the opposition Congress accusing it of causing "political instability" and betraying the people.

The BJP had replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat with Tirath Singh Rawat on March 10, hoping to go into the assembly polls with the new face, but he too was asked to step down as the Constitution required him to get elected as a member of the state assembly within six months of his appointment as CM and there seemed an increasing uncertainty over the Election Commission holding bypolls at this stage.

The opposition Congress, however, hit out at the BJP leadership, saying instead of ushering in development, it has thrown Uttarakhand into the throes of political instability and betrayed its people by repeatedly changing chief ministers.