Amid search for Dhami's successor in U'khand, Union Minister Bhatt meets BL Santosh

Mar 12, 2022

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], March 12 : BJP might have swept the Uttarakhand Assembly polls with a thumping majority, but the defeat of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami from his Khatima seat has raised doubts and uncertainty over who will be the next chief minister of the state.
Amid this, Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt on Saturday met BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh in Uttarakhand.
On meeting with BL Santosh in Uttarakhand, the Union Minister said this was a courtesy call and there was no other subject.
"In our party, organization ministers are the backbone of the party. I came here after two and a half months. Before that, I was busy in the Vijay Sankalp rally and then in elections. So I came here to thank people," said Bhatt.
"The people of the state have given us a thumping majority in Uttarakhand, and that is why I came and thanked them and expressed gratitude that the victory which has been achieved this time in Uttarakhand have broken all the myths. There was a myth that the state Education Minister never win in Uttarakhand but this time also he won," he added.
When asked about being a strong contender for the Chief Minister, he said, "There is no such thing, I have worked on the responsibility that my party has given me till date. I have never seen left and right."
He further said that the MLAs will decide their leader in the legislator party meeting and after that, the name of the elected leader comes for approval in the Central Parliamentary Board.
"When the name will be approved by the Parliamentary Board, it will be declared. This is the process and we will go like this only," he said.
He further said that somewhere someone's name always pops up in media.
"BJP's procedure is completely different. There is nothing in anyone's mind, the what the Parliamentary Board will decide will follow it," said MoS Defence.
On a question on how long it will take to form the government, Bhatt said "I think that immediately after Holi further work can be done to form a government."
The BJP won the popular mandate for the second consecutive term in Uttarakhand, bagging 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly.