Key names in the Uttarakhand polls

Uttarakhand polls ; Vijay Bahuguna

Vijay Bahuguna is a former Congress politician who served as the 6th chief minister of Uttarakhand. His government came under widespread criticism for the way it handled the June 2013 flood situation in the state. Harish Rawat succeeded him as chief minister. Bahuguna was among the rebel Congress MLAs who withdrew support from the Rawat government and reduced it to a minority. He then joined the BJP. The incumbent chief minister of Uttarakhand is a member of the Congress. The former Union minister took over as the state’s CM following the resignation of Vijay Bahuguna. He faced a rebellion from within his own party which led to his government being reduced to a minority and President’s rule being imposed in the state. However, the Uttarakhand High Court set aside President’s rule and asked Rawat to prove majority, which he did.

Bhagat Singh Koshyari is a veteran of the RSS and a member of the BJP. He served as the second chief minister of Uttarakhand (then Uttaranchal) from 2001 to 2002. Recently, sources claimed that Koshiyari and others who are part of the BJP’s old guard in the state want a greater say in matters related to the elections.

Major General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (retd) is a senior member of the BJP who served as Uttarakhand chief minister from 2007-09 and 2011-12. He has previously served as a Cabinet Minister in the government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He arguably has the cleanest image among BJP leaders in the state, which further enhances his importance in the upcoming elections.

Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank is a BJP politician who was the chief minister of Uttarakhand from 2009 to 2011.

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