Dehradun (Uttarakhand): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Thursday made it clear that it is not him, but the BJP, which will decide the seat from where he will be contesting in the bypolls.
"I have always followed the instructions of the party high command and have played the role they have asked me. They have given me this role and have trusted me during critical time. I will not decide that (elections), the party will take a call on that. Delhi will take the decision and I will follow that," Rawat said.
At present, CM Tirath Singh Rawat is not an MLA, but a Lok Sabha MP. To continue holding his post, Rawat has to be an elected member of the legislative assembly before the completion of six months on September 9. His comments come in the wake of the official spokesperson, including the state president of BJP, having said that the Chief Minister would be contesting in the elections.
The BJP MP from Garhwal, Tirath Singh Rawat had sworn in as the Uttarakhand CM in March 2021, replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat who had to step down from the post following resentment against him within the BJP state unit. Assembly polls in the state are scheduled to take place in 2022. It is known that the BJP had swept the elections in 2017, winning 57 seats in the 70 member Uttarakhand Assembly, while the Congress had won just 11 seats.
Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat also lashed out at the opposition for raising questions regarding his leadership, saying that during the Coronavirus crisis, the leaders of the opposition were simply sitting in their houses while the government was constantly engaged in works. The Uttarakhand CM also targeted the Aam Aadmi Party saying that if the Home Minister had not been active in Delhi, the situation would have been worse.
