DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday cemented his position as the longest-serving BJP Chief Minister in the state's 25-year existence.
This achievement places him as the second longest-serving Chief Minister overall since the state's formation, a record still held by the late Congress stalwart, Pandit Narain Dutt Tiwari, who completed a full five-year term.
Dhami's remarkable tenure surpasses that of all his BJP predecessors, including Bhuvan Chand Khanduri (who served twice), Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, and most notably, Trivendra Singh Rawat (TSR).
The path to this milestone began following the abrupt ouster of TSR, who was asked by the party high command to resign just a week shy of completing his four-year term on March 10, 2021.
The sudden demand for his resignation came while the budget session was in full swing in the summer capital, Gairsain - a decision that reportedly continues to sting Rawat, who occasionally vocalises his dissent with sharp, uncomfortable statements against the current state government.
The BJP's unexpected decision to remove TSR left political analysts in the state bewildered. The party swiftly replaced him, not deeming it fit for Rawat to remain in office even for an hour.
In another surprising move, the BJP handed over the reins to Tirath Singh Rawat, then a Member of Parliament from Pauri Garhwal. He became the state's 12th Chief Minister and the fifth from the BJP. Although Tirath had earlier served as Education Minister in the Uttarakhand cabinet in 2007, his tenure as Chief Minister was short-lived, lasting just 116 days from March 10, 2021, to July 4, 2021, prompting the party high command to swiftly rethink its strategy.
Subsequently, Pushkar Singh Dhami, a three-time MLA and a known protégé of former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, was entrusted with the state's leadership.
The very genesis of Uttarakhand, carved out of Uttar Pradesh, was to ensure holistic development in its challenging mountainous regions. Senior political analyst and historian Jai Singh Rawat highlighted the state's precarious political landscape since its inception.
"Nityanand Swami of the BJP took oath as the first Chief Minister of the interim government on November 9, 2000," Rawat told TNIE.
"Unfortunately, political instability has plagued Uttarakhand since its formation. Swami was replaced in just 354 days due to opposition from within his own party rivals."
Following him, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, deeply associated with the RSS, took charge on October 30, 2001, but he too lasted only 122 days.
The first elected government was formed in 2002, with the Congress securing a majority, and the state's leadership fell to party veteran Pandit Narain Dutt Tiwari.
"Despite traditional factionalism and internal discord within the Congress, Pandit Tiwari successfully completed a five-year term, an unprecedented feat that remains his record to this day," Jai Singh Rawat told TNIE.
Chief Minister Dhami completed three years and 358 days in office on Friday, surpassing Trivendra Singh Rawat's tenure of 3 years and 357 days.
BJP's State Media In-charge, Manveer Chauhan, attributed Dhami's achievement to the culmination of dozens of public-welfare decisions taken under his leadership, including the stringent anti-copying law, land law, anti-conversion law, and the Uniform Civil Code.