India's Ruling BJP Names Tirath Singh Rawat New State Chief of Uttarakhand Amid Leadership Shuffle

On 9 March, the almost four-year state chief of India's Uttarakhand – Trivendra Singh Rawat handed in his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya in the state capital Dehradun. India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which governs the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, had been considering a change of leadership in the region for a while.

The BJP has named Tirath Singh Rawat as the new Chief Minister (CM) of Uttarakhand. Rawat will be sworn in during a ceremony scheduled for later in the day. The announcement came in the wake of a BJP party meeting on Wednesday.

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) March 10, 2021

​The leadership change in Uttarakhand has created a major buzz on social media. Many people are congratulating the state as well as its newly elected chief, while others are a bit bewildered by the rapid changes.

The confusing part is that both, Tirath Singh Rawat as well as Uttarakhand's former chief Trivendra Singh Rawat have the same surname, and also use the same abbreviation for their names – "TS Rawat". Memes on the situation have also emerged on social media.  

— Souvick Sasmal (@SouvickSasmal8) March 10, 2021

— A K Singh 🇮🇳 (@AKSingh_HJP) March 10, 2021

— Rishi Bagree 🇮🇳 (@rishibagree) March 10, 2021

— Vikalp Sharma (@vikalprs) March 10, 2021

— Harsh Choubey (@Harshchoubey44) March 10, 2021

​In the year 2000, when Uttarakhand was declared a state in India, Tirath Singh Rawat was appointed its first Education Minister.

Aged 56, Tirath Singh Rawat is also regarded as a prominent personality in the Thakur (Upper caste) community of Uttarakhand.