Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat resigns, BJP legislators to meet on July 3 to elect new leader

Mr. Rawat steps down amid delay in holding bypoll.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat tendered his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya late on Friday night, ending his tenure just four months after he took oath, and paved the way for the appointment of a third Chief Minister for the State this year. Mr. Tirath Singh Rawat had been camping in New Delhi since Wednesday, after he was caught in a legal limbo over his continuation as Chief Minister — while he is required to be elected as a member of the Uttarakhand Assembly within six months of having taken oath as Chief Minister, under the Representation of People Act, bypolls are not held for vacant seats if the tenure of the Assembly expires within a year. The Uttarakhand Assembly’s term expires in March, 2022. Mr. Tirath Singh Rawat is a Lok Sabha MP from Uttarakhand and had on March 10 as Chief Minister after . The BJP has called a meeting of its legislature party in Uttarakhand on July 3 to elect a new leader with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar being appointed as observer for the meeting. On a possible successor to Mr. Tirath Singh Rawat, while many names are doing the rounds, sources said only someone who is already an MLA will be chosen this time round.