New Delhi, Oct. 28 :    New Delhi, Oct. 28:  Uttaranchal power minister Bhagat Singh Koshiari emerged as a dark horse edging out Union ministers Lt. Gen. B.C. Khanduri and Bachchi Singh Rawat in the race to replace Nityanand Swami as the new chief minister of the state. Well placed BJP sources said Koshiari will be elected as the new leader at the legislature party meeting in Dehra Dun tomorrow. He is likely to be sworn in the day after. Former BJP president Kushabhau Thakre and certain other central observers would be present at the MLAs' meeting. Swami agreed to tender his formal resignation tomorrow but continued to make noises of dissent. His decision to quit comes in the wake of the leadership's move to opt for a change of guard under a younger leadership in the state. Uttaranchal is slated to go to polls in February-March 2002. Swami said he was having to quit because of 'pressure from certain quarters'. 'I want to make it clear that I have decided to resign on my own wish. But yes, I was under pressure from certain quarters under which I would not like to have worked,' he said. The leadership's decision on the new chief minister will be acceptable to him, the 73-year-old leader said. 'See, I have been working for 18-hours-a-day as chief minister. At this time of the crucial Assembly elections, I cannot afford to take more strain,' Swami said, adding that he had fainted twice during his tenure. BJP sources said Swami paid the price of 'acting over-smart'. He had earned a reprieve till November 9 but once he returned from Delhi he began plotting against the central leadership, they said. Swami summoned MLAs individually and sounded them about a scenario where they were expected to defy the central leadership. His detractors were quick to convey the 'defiance' to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Union home minister L.K. Advani. The Vajpayee-Advani duo then decided to act swiftly and Swami was asked to step down. The chief minister had wanted to complete a year in office and that would have been possible had he been retained till November 9. The Congress today demanded dissolution of the House and imposition of President's rule in the state. It urged Governor S.S. Barnala to cancel the notification summoning the Assembly tomorrow.