Bahuguna resigns, Rawat set to take over

The Congress had selected Bahuguna as the chief minister after the 2012 assembly elections, ignoring Rawat’s claim to the post.

Vijay Bahuguna after submitting his resignation to Governor Aziz Qureshi, in Dehradun Friday. PTI

The uncertainty for more than a month over change of guard in Uttarakhand ended Friday after Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna resigned from his post. Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat is all set to take over as chief minister after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) to select a new leader is held here Saturday.

The Congress had selected Bahuguna as the chief minister after the 2012 assembly elections, ignoring Rawat’s claim to the post.

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Before leaving for Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation to Governor Aziz Qureshi, Bahuguna told reporters at his residence that he is resigning from his post on instructions from his party high command. He said a meeting of the CLP will be held on Saturday to elect a new leader in his place. “The party MLAs are with the decision of the party high command,” he said. He refused to take any question.

He was accompanied by several of his ministers, including Congress state president and Revenue Minister Yashpal Arya, Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat and Food & Civil Supplies Minister Pritam Singh, to the Raj Bhavan. Soon after submitting his resignation, Bahuguna flew to New Delhi.

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