Given his lack of ministerial experience, Pushkar Singh Dhami might be a surprise pick as the 11th chief minister of Uttarakhand. However, he has been an active member of the party since his college days.
Dhami, an MLA from Khatima, was born in September 1975 in Tundi village of Didihat tehsil in Pithoragarh to a soldier father and a homemaker mother. He has three sisters. On his website, his childhood is described as "economically deprived." The website, which was largely inactive, crashed due to unprecedented traffic soon after the CM announcement.
As a schoolboy, Dhami was a part of the National Cadet Corps and Scouts and Guides. He obtained his law degree from Lucknow University where he also became a part of student politics.
His long association with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began when he became a member of its student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. From 1990 to 1999, Dhami held various posts in the ABVP at the state and the national level.
After the formation of Uttarakhand, he served as an adviser to CM Bhagat Singh Koshiyari till 2002. He then embarked on an extensive tour of the state to understand the problems of unemployed youth. He organised many rallies through which he could connect them with the party. This was instrumental in the state government implementing a policy of 70 per cent reservation in jobs for local youth. It was in the pursuit of this goal that Dhami also organised a gherao of the Vidhan Sabha with 90 young men—a feat that has since then not been repeated in the state.
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From 2010 to 2012, Dhami served as vice president of the Urban Development Monitoring Council. Dhami is recognised as an excellent organiser and grassroots worker, and as a two-time MLA, has a reputation for getting things done.
On his website, Dhami says that his appeal to the people of the state is that they must appraise him of their problems so that he can raise them in the Vidhan Sabha and find solutions to them. “Let us be aware of our rights and responsibilities, and work with constructive and positive thoughts so that our state can march on the path of development and progress," says his message on the website.
In his 2017 affidavit filed before the Election Commission of India, Dhami lists only a scooter and a scooty as his vehicles, while the total value of his assets is slightly more than Rs 28 lakh (including deposits and jewelry). He also owns 1.87 acres of agricultural land.
