Ritu Khanduri likely to be nominated as the first woman CM of Uttarakhand

In a phone conversation with ETV Bharat, Ritu Khanduri confirmed that she has been called to Delhi, but did not ensure her name being considered for the Chief Minister's race. However, sources have cited her husband Rajesh Bhushan's close relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a competent reason for this possibility.

Dehradun: With the ongoing contemplation over the Chief Ministerial candidate in Uttarakhand after BJP's landslide win, it is being highly speculated that PM Modi might give Uttarakhand its first woman Chief Minister. Ritu Khanduri, the daughter offormer Chief Minister BC Khanduri, who secured a win from the Kotdwar constituency, has high chances of being named as the first woman CM of Uttarakhand.

This discussion in the political circles has caught even more cream as Khanduri was called to the national capital for a meeting this morning by the BJP High Command.

It is evident that the discussion is on hot wheels with almost all the important BJP leaders in the state including Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal - who were deployed in Dehradun as observers - have not yet returned back to the state.

In fact, Pushkar Singh Dhami and Subodh Uniyal have also been called to Delhi. The possible move of referring a woman candidate's name for the CM post comes from the backdrop of women voters showing unprecedented support to BJP in the state in this year's elections.

In a phone conversation with ETV Bharat, Ritu Khanduri confirmed that she has been called to Delhi, but did not ensure her name being considered for the Chief Minister's race. However, sources have cited her husband Rajesh Bhushan's close relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a competent reason for this possibility.

Bhushan is currently serving as the senior Health Secretary in the Central Government, while his work is praised by the entire cabinet including the Prime Minister.