Tirath Singh Rawat resigns as Uttarakhand CM, BJP MLAs' meet today in Dehradun at 3pm

 Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat has resigned from his post and met the state Governor late Friday night. The BJP has called a meeting of its MLAs at 3pm today in Dehradun.

Tirath Singh Rawat handing over his resignation as Uttarakhand chief minister to Governor Baby Rani Maurya at the Raj Bhawan in Dehradun.

Less than four months after he took oath, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat resigned from his post on Friday. He met Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya at the Raj Bhawan on late Friday night and submitted his resignation.

With this, Tirath Singh Rawat has become the chief minister with the shortest tenure (115 days) in Uttarakhand's history.

Earlier, in a letter to BJP national president JP Nadda, Tirath Singh Rawat had said he was offering to resign in order to "avoid a constitutional crisis" in the state.

In the wake of these developments, the BJP has asked Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar to go to Dehradun on Saturday as an observer. The party high command has also called a meeting of the BJP MLAs at 3pm at the BJP headquarter in Dehradun.

Tirath Singh Rawat took oath as Uttarakhand's chief minister on March 10, replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat.

At the time of taking oath, Tirath Singh Rawat was not an elected MLA in the Uttarakhand Assembly, and was rather a Lok Sabha MP representing Pauri Garhwal. He continues to be a Lok Sabha MP at present.

As per the Constitution, a minister or the chief minister has to get elected to the state legislature within six months of taking oath. The person can either be elected to the legislative assembly or the legislative council (in states that have two houses). Uttarakhand does not have any legislative council.

In the case of Tirath Singh Rawat, he has until September 10 to get elected to the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly through a byelection.

Tirath Singh Rawat's offer to resign comes amid speculations that the BJP could pick a new leader as the chief minister, given the possibility that the Election Commission may not hold a bypoll amid the coronavirus pandemic.

UPDATES ON UTTARAKHAND'S POLITICS:

11.30 pm: Tirath Singh Rawat has resigned as Uttarakhand's chief minister and submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya.

11.15 pm: Tirath Singh Rawat's cavalcade has reached the Raj Bhawan where he is expected to meet Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya. The meeting comes amid reports that Rawat will resign from his post anytime.

10.00 pm: Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat had reached the state secretariat in Dehradun. When asked whether he would resign as the chief minister, Rawat refused to answer and left the secretariat.

9.40 pm: The BJP has asked all party MLAs in Uttarakhand to reach Dehradun by 11am tomorrow. The BJP's legislative party meeting will be held at 3 pm. The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of state president Madan Kaushik.

9.15 pm: Senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat in a series of tweets said Uttarakhand is facing a serious constitutional crisis and the "BJP is unable to decide whether it should impose President Rule or ask Trivendra Singh Rawat to resign".

"The chief minister is in Delhi and the administration in the state has crumbled. People in the state are unable to understand what definition of the double engine government' this is," he tweeted in Hindi.

Vacancies in Uttarakhand Assembly: At present, there are two vacant assembly seats in Uttarakhand -- Gangotri and Haldwani. Gangotri fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Gopal Singh Rawat and Haldwani after the death of Leader of Opposition Indira Hridayesh.

8.55 pm: Speculation over a change of guard in Uttarakhand was fuelled when Tirath Singh Rawat was summoned suddenly on Wednesday to Delhi by the BJP central leadership. In Delhi, Rawat reportedly met party president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Speaking to reporters, he said it is the Election Commission's prerogative to hold or not conduct the bypoll, and the party will move forward accordingly.

8.50 pm: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat has reached the state secretariat in Dehradun. He is expected to address a press conference at the media centre there later tonight.

8.40 pm: The BJP high command has asked Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar to go to Dehradun tomorrow as an observer. He will be attending a meeting of the BJP MLAs.

8.35 pm: Tirath Singh Rawat is likely to address a press conference at 9.30pm today in Dehradun.

8.20 pm: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat has landed at the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun. Sources say he will be meeting Governor Baby Rani Maurya soon.