Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today resigned as Uttarakhand Chief Minister paving the way for B. C. Khanduri to take over the top post.
Nishank, along with some party leaders, went to Raj Bhavan and handed over his resignation to Governor Margaret Alva, Raj Bhavan sources said here.
Seeking to salvage its sagging image in poll-bound Uttarakhand, BJP on Saturday announced that 76-year-old Khanduri, a former Chief Minister of the state, would replace Nishank.
Nishank said after submitting his resignation, "I'm a party worker. I will do whatever the party wants me to do..."
After two long rounds of talks with Nishank in Delhi, the BJP top brass had convinced him to step down from the post in the wake of a series of alleged scams against his government.
"Keeping in view the forthcoming elections in Uttarakhand, BJP has decided for a change in leadership. Khanduri will be the new chief minister of the state," party president Nitin Gadkari had told reporters on Saturday after the four-hour meeting.
"It was conveyed to Nishank that the party wants a change in leadership in view of the elections. There have been some allegations in the media that there are cases of corruption against him. The party wants to make it clear that there are no charges against him," Gadkari had said.
He had underlined that the only reason for the change was the forthcoming polls.
Sources said though the decision to remove Khanduri had been taken at the Parliamentary Board meeting of the party on last Friday, the BJP top brass did not want to ruffle any feather by sacking 54-year-old Nishank unceremoniously.