Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has submitted his resignation to the Governor in Dehradun today. According to party sources, Congress observers Ghulam Nabi Azad and Janardan Dwivedi and Party’s Uttarakhand incharge, Ambika Soni are scheduled to visit Dehradun tomorrow to attend the Congress Legislature Party meeting in which the new leader will be elected.Our correspondent reports that Vijay Bahuguna’s resignation comes after Congress Preseident Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with senior party leaders in Delhi on Wednesday.

Union Minister Harish Rawat is being seen as a front runner for Chief Ministership. State Cabinet Minister Pritam Singh and Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj are also being seen as other contenders for the job. Harish Rawat was given credit for taking the Congress to victory in the last Assembly elections. It is believed that the way Bahuguna handled the flash floods and the massive rescue and rehabilitation work in the State last year brought his leadership skills into question. Since then delegations of Congress MLAs and other party leaders from the State have been regularly meeting central party leaders in Delhi to press for Bahuguna’s ouster.

The Congress with 33 members in the State Assembly enjoys the support of 7 members of Progressive Democratic Front including 3 members from BSP, 3 independents and 1 MLA from Uttarakhand Kranti Dal. The BJP has 30 MLAs in the Assembly.