Rajnath Singh, Meenakshi Lekhi In Uttarakhand For Top Post Announcement

While outgoing Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is seen as the front-runner for the top post, there are several contenders, including former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, and senior leader Satpal Maharaj.

The name of the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand -- one of the four states retained by the BJP in the recently concluded assembly elections -- will be announced this evening after the legislature party meeting. The BJP's central observers for the state, Union minister Rajnath Singh and senior leader Meenakshi Lekhi, have landed in Dehradun and are heading for the BJP head office for the meeting.

While outgoing Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is seen as the front-runner for the top post, there are several contenders, including former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, former Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, and senior leader Satpal Maharaj.

All four had met Union Minister and the party's chief strategist Amit Shah at his Delhi home yesterday. Party chief JP Nadda was also present at the meeting.

The BJP has won a record second term in the hill state with 47 of the 70 assembly seats after a campaign spearheaded by Mr Dhami, but he lost the election from Khatima, leading to uncertainty about the top post that has persisted for 10 days.