After having removed B C Khanduri from the chief minister's office in June, the BJP on Tuesday replaced state party chief Bacchi Singh Rawat with Bishan Singh Chuphal. Party sources say that Rawat's replacement was not unexpected following the Lok Sabha debacle experienced by the party. Rawat had himself been the party candidate for the Nainital Lok Sabha seat, where he lost to K C Singh Baba of the Congress. A senior party leader, Chuphal has been a Cabinet minister in all the BJP governments in the state. He was a minister in Nityanand Swami's interim government and was also a part of the Khanduri Cabinet. He is presently the Forest Minister in the Cabinet being led by Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Interestingly, in the Lok Sabha elections, barring Chuphal's Assembly constituency of Didihat, the BJP had lost in all the constituencies being represented by its Cabinet ministers. Sources say that by appointing Chuphal as the new party chief, the BJP has tried to maintain a balance between the two regions of Garhwal and Kumaon.