B C Khanduri, a former army general, was Sunday sworn in as chief minister of Uttarakhand replacing Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, in an apparent bid by Bharatiya Janata Party to lift its sagging image following corruption charges and intra-party feuds in the state ahead of assembly polls.
B C Khanduri was removed last year as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on defence.
Though Uttarakhand has seen a flurry of industrial investments in the last couple of years, its people have for long depended on the government for jobs, healthcare and education. But the delivery mechanism is in tatters. Over the years, corruption in recruitment and absenteeism from schools and hospitals has become the norm in the state.
Recently, he put a spanner on the foreign jaunts of IAS officers and other government officials as part of his economy drive.
In the brief history of the hill state of Uttarakhand, there has not been a single instance where a chief minister has lost a by-election, reports Shishir Prashant.
Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com gives the lowdown on the constituencies going to polls in the first phase on April 11.
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