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Rawat becomes new CM of Uttarakhand

Governor Aziz Qureshi administers oath, all 11 cabinet ministers of Vijay Bahuguna govt retained

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Shishir Prashant Dehradun
Last Updated : Feb 01 2014 | 7:18 PM IST
Harish Rawat (65) was on Saturday sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand that fulfilled his long-cherished dream after he was nominated as the leader of the Congress legislature party (CLP) by party President Sonia Gandhi.

Senior Congress leader Satpal Maharaj, an MP from Pauri Lok Sabha seat, was initially not happy with the appointment of Rawat as CM and was seen sulking.  However, Maharaj was later pacified by the party high command on an assurance that he would be compensated. On the other hand, there were some fissures in the People Democratic Front (PDF), an alliance of BSP and independent MLAs who are supporting the government with Dinesh Dhanai, an independent MLA from Tehri quitting the grouping in disgust.

Governor Aziz Qureshi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Rawat along with his 11 cabinet colleagues amid fireworks and drum beating by hundreds of jubilant party workers outside the Raj Bhavan as well as Bijapur Guest house where the CLP meet was held. Significantly, Rawat retained all the 11 cabinet ministers who had served in the former Vijay Bahuguna government.

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The CLP meet which began around the noon authorized Gandhi to nominate the new leader. Gandhi in the evening named Rawat as the new leader in place of Bahuguna, who was removed yesterday in a major political shakeup in the hill state.

An announcement on the new incumbent was made by party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi, who came as observer here along with Ambika Soni and Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Now, Rawat faces a herculean task of vacating a seat to contest assembly election within six months. Some of Rawat’s loyal MLAs like Himesh Kharkwal have already made offer to quit their seats in favour of the new leader.

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First Published: Feb 01 2014 | 7:14 PM IST

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