Uttarakhand: PM Modi And Home Minister Amit Shah Express Confidence In CM Dhami, Another Test Awaits Him Ahead Of Assembly Polls

During his recent visit to the Kedarnath Dham, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi stated that this decade belongs to Uttarakhand. He added that the
coming 10 years will be notable for the unprecedented boost to
connectivity in the hill state, resulting in a greater inflow of
tourists.

It was his fifth visit to the Jyotirlinga as prime minister. He unveiled a sculpture of Adi Guru Shankaracharya at his reconstructed samadhi; offered prayers at the Kedarnath Temple and inaugurated development projects initiated by his government.

He said that the work on the Chardham road project connecting with the
Chardham highways is going at a fast pace alongside other
developmental works under the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government.

Dhami has said that his government is working to make Uttarakhand the best state and to make the work and policies of the government reach each and every person in the state.

CM Dhami is currently receiving confidence boosters from the top
leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2022 polls. Home
Minister Amit Shah visited the hill state recently and said during
his visit that Uttarakhand has developed on all fronts under BJP
rule.

He sought another mandate for the party to bring prosperity to
every home under the leadership of PM Modi and CM Dhami.

On 2 November, Dhami met senior BJP leaders Amit Shah and BL Santhosh
ahead of the state assembly polls. BJP leader from Uttarakhand and
unit head Madan Kaushik, party general secretary and state in-charge
Dushyant Gautam and co-in charge Rekha Verma, and union minister
Pralhad Joshi (BJP's election in-charge for Uttarakhand) also
participated in the meeting.

During Shah's visit, Dhami received appreciation for his work — especially managing resources during the disaster in the state caused by heavy
rains.

For PM Modi, it was his second visit to Uttarakhand in two months. He praised Dhami for his dynamism and said that under him,
Uttarakhand is on a path to a fast pace of development.

Modi congratulated Dhami for Uttarakhand successfully achieving the target of vaccinating the eligible population with the first dose of vaccine
in the fight against Covid 19.

Ahead of the PM's visit to Kedarnath, CM Dhami found himself taking
up the task of pacifying the protesting priests at the Kedarnath dham
saying that he will resolve issues related to the shrine board by the
end of this month.

It was this assurance from Dhami that persuaded the
priests to look away from the idea of opposing PM Modi's visit to the
Kedarnath Temple three days after former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat was
forced to return by agitating priests.

This leaves Dhami with the task of addressing the tricky issue of the
shrine board at the end of the month. It could be a test for Dhami as
upsetting the community of priests ahead of the assembly polls could
pose problems for his party.

At the same time, Dhami's capabilities at handling the issue will be watched by the top three people in the BJP's leadership.

With Shah and Modi both looking positive and confident in their
perception of CM Dhami, there is an indication that the current chief
minister's work in the party and state administration may make him the
favourite in BJP's fight in the 2022 assembly poll.

The uncertainty regarding Harak Singh Rawat remaining in BJP — and not returning to Congress — has been a subject of attention in the state. Rawat's statements during the previous month were perceived to have fuelled speculations of his return to the Congress.

Senior leader from Congress and former CM Harish Rawat has kept a
welcoming tone towards Harak Singh Rawat. Harak Singh Rawat was seen
seated at the dais in Kedarnath during the speech of PM Modi.

CM Dhami delivered a speech after PM Modi in Kedarnath.

The scrapping of the Char Dham Board is a subject that is likely to
catch momentum in Uttarakhand politics and in Dhami's task list
ahead of the assembly polls.