Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 30 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Jagat Prakash Nadda has appointed Mahendra Bhatt as the president of the party's Uttarakhand unit.

Dehradun Mar 21 PTI Before the Uttarakhand assembly polls Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had compared Pushkar Singh Dhami to cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni Dhami he said was a good finisher suggesting that he will get the BJP the runs it needed to win the election While making the cricketing analogy Rajnath Singh reportedly said Dhami was working relentlessly as the CM and needed also to play a test match On Monday the Bharatiya Janata Party picked him for the CMs post again this time for the longer version of the game It was a difficult decision as Dhami had failed to win his own seat even as the party scored big in the hill state Dhami was plucked out of obscurity by the BJP last July and made the Uttarakhand chief minister with just months to go before the state elections He also happened to be the third leader to occupy the CMs post during 2021 Earlier in the year Trivendra Singh Rawat had to make way for Tirath Singh Rawat Dhami seemed to have justified the partys confidence in him The BJP won Uttarakhand again the first time in the states 21-year history that a party has come to power for a second term in a row But in his own Khatima constituency Dhami lost by a slim margin of about 6500 votes At 45 he was the states youngest chief minister when he first took over in July The state was then grappling with a series of problems and with elections just round the corner Dhami had little time to prove himself The states economy was battered by Covid the Char Dham priests were agitating against a new regulatory board and a massive Covid testing scam had hit the headlines earlier Like other BJP chief ministers Dhami styled himself as the one who executed Prime Minister Narendra Modis grand vision for the states development through a double-engine government Dhami is often regarded as a protg of Maharashtra Governor and former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari whom he served as an Officer on Special Duty OSD and an adviser He began his political career in 1990 with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad the student wing of the BJP and was the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha twice He campaigned for reservation of jobs in industries for the local youth Dhamis father retired as a subedar in Army He was born in Pithoragarhs Tundi village after the family shifted there from its ancestral village Harkhola When he was in class 5 they moved to Khatima which was to become Dhamis karmabhoomi later He won the assembly polls from there twice He graduated from Lucknow University in Human Resource Management Industrial Relations and also has a degree in law PTI ALM ASH ASH

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], December 26 (ANI): Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat met state's Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at his residence on late Saturday.

Dehradun Oct 28 PTI Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Kedarnath on November 5 a priest of the Himalayan temple has alleged misuse of government funds allocated for the Kedarpuri reconstruction projects by the BJP-led Uttarakhand dispensationBrij Ballabh Bagwadi who has been serving as a teerth purohit pilgrimage priest at the temple for the last 31 years was seen levelling the allegations in a video in the presence of former Uttarakhand chief minister and Congress general secretary Harish Rawat The video was shot in Kedarnath when Rawat visited the temple on TuesdayWhen contacted on Thursday Bagwadi alleged that the current dispensation has wasted billions of rupees by demolishing works done by the previous government led by Rawat adding that the money wasted so far would have been enough to build another KedarnathTargeting the state government over the allegations the Uttarakhand Congress said that the current dispensation is only trying to put its stamp on the work done by the previous governmentThe BJP however said that the whole world knows that everything done in Kedarnath is Prime Minister Narendra Modis contributionBagwadi claimed he has nothing to do with the Congress or the BJP and is only voicing his hurt feelings to unburden his heartA rest house built at a cost of crores of rupees by the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering at the helipad in Kedarnath was demolished just to expand the helipad a riverside ghat built at an expense of Rs 20-21 crore was demolished just because its steps were not wide enough and the Aastha Path fitted with solar lights was also destroyed and now something else is being constructed in its place he claimedThe government has no plans All development works are unfinished The Centre is sending funds but the policymakers in the state have no clue as to what needs to be done For them Kedarnath has become a milch cow Bagwadi saidThe teerth purohits have raised these issues with the administration and the government several times but locals are not being given any importance he allegedDuring his visit PM Modi will unveil a statue of Adi Guru Shankaracharya and inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of reconstruction projects worth more than Rs 400 croreThis will be Modis second visit to the state within a month The prime minister has been closely monitoring the Kedarpuri reconstruction projectsUttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal said he has been saying all along that the BJP government has done nothing new in KedarnathIt has just changed a stone here and a tile there to put its stamp on the work done by the previous government and pass it off as its work he saidHowever BJPs state media incharge Manveer Chauhan said Everyone knows Kedarpuri reconstruction is Prime Minister Narendra Modis dream project The whole world knows that everything done in Kedarnath is the Prime Ministers contribution The Congress did nothing The portals of Kedarnath are scheduled to be closed for winter on November 6 on the occasion of Bhai Dooj PTI ALM DIV DIV