Amid rumours of his resignation, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is expected to address a surprise press conference in Dehradun at 3pm on Tuesday, a day after he met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda in Delhi.

Sources indicated that he might meet the governor around 4pm. BJP state unit chief Bansidhar Bhagat said party legislators will hold a meeting on at 11am on Wednesday.

There is a strong buzz that first-time MLA Dhan Singh Rawat could be picked as a replacement for Trivendra Rawat.

Several ministers and MLAs have expressed apprehensions over the working style of Rawat. Amid discontent within a section of the party MLAs and MPs, Rawat flew to New Delhi on March 8 after being summoned by the party’s top leadership.

The visit came after a sudden meeting of Uttarakhand BJP’s core committee was presided over by the party’s national vice president and former Chhattisgarh chief minister, Raman Singh, on March 6.

While the issues of growing resentment among party MLAs and a long overdue cabinet expansion keep raising their heads from time to time, speculations about a leadership change in the state gained momentum after Raman Singh and state party in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam arrived here on Saturday to preside over an unscheduled meeting of the state party’s group. The core group meeting was held at a time when most of the party MLAs and ministers including the chief minister were in Gairsain to attend the important budget session of the state assembly.

Uttarakhand will go to polls early next year and the incumbent government’s four years will complete on March 18. In between, the political crisis has thrown mega preparations planned to celebrate the four years out of gear.