DEHRADUN: The new chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, is unlikely to get a honeymoon period due to the several hurdles in front of him.
The BJP, at present, is an extremely divided house with some of the cabinet ministers, who were eying the top post, upset with the party leadership for appointing a young MLA as the CM.
Bhagirath Sharma, a political analyst, told TOI, “With very little time left for the next polls, he will have to take along the experienced voices in the party. The simmering dissent among some party MLAs might pose some problems for him and he will need to manage the differences to ensure the party’s win in the assembly polls.”
Before the oath ceremony, CM Dhami went to the residence of Satpal Maharaj, who was one of the frontrunners for the top post. Dhami is believed to have persuaded Maharaj to join his cabinet.
Significantly, senior state leaders have their factions within the party and taking everyone along will be the biggest challenge for Dhami, especially when the assembly elections are just seven-eight months away.
“Yes, it is not going to be an easy ride for Pushkar Singh Dhami, considering the dissatisfaction of a few party MLAs with his appointment. He must take everyone along, especially the veteran party leaders,” said a BJP leader privy to the developments.
Additionally, experts believe that Dhami may also have a difficult time dealing with issues like protests against the Char Dham Devasthanam Board.
Anoop Nautiyal, the founder of social organisation Social Development for Communities Foundation, believes that managing bureaucracy, bring all senior party leaders on board, altering the negative public perception on frequent change of guard will be the biggest challenges for Dhami.
