Wellington (AP): Education Minister Chris Hipkins is set to become New Zealand's next prime minister after he was the only candidate to enter the contest Saturday to replace Jacinda Ardern.

Hipkins, 44, must still garner an endorsement Sunday from his Labour Party colleagues in Parliament but that is just a formality now.

Ardern shocked the nation of 5 million people on Thursday when she announced she was resigning after five-and-a-half years in the top role.

The lack of other candidates indicated party lawmakers had rallied behind Hipkins to avoid a drawn-out contest and any sign of disunity following Ardern's departure.

Hipkins will have less than eight months in the role before contesting a general election. Opinion polls have indicated that Labour is trailing the main opponent, the conservative National Party.

Hipkins rose to public prominence during the coronavirus pandemic, when he took on a kind of crisis management role. But he and other liberals have long been in the shadow of Ardern, who became a global icon of the left and exemplified a new style of leadership.

Just 37 when she became leader, Ardern was praised around the world for her handling of the nation's worst-ever mass shooting and the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But she faced mounting political pressures at home and a level of vitriol from some that previous New Zealand leaders hadn't faced. Online, she was subject to physical threats and misogynistic rants.

"Our society could now usefully reflect on whether it wants to continue to tolerate the excessive polarisation which is making politics an increasingly unattractive calling," wrote former prime minister Helen Clark.

Fighting back tears, Ardern told reporters on Thursday that she was leaving the position no later than February 7.

"I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple," she said.

Besides holding the education portfolio, Hipkins is also minister for police and the public service, and leader of the House. He is known as a political troubleshooter who has taken on a variety of roles to try to iron out problems created by other lawmakers.

But he's also committed some gaffes of his own, like when he told people during a virus lockdown that they could go outside and "spread their legs", a comment that drew plenty of mirth on the internet.

A lawmaker for 15 years, Hipkins is considered more centrist than Ardern and colleagues hope that he will appeal to a broad range of voters.

Among his biggest challenges during an election year will be convincing voters that his party is managing the economy well.

New Zealand's unemployment rate is relatively low at 3.3 per cent, but inflation is high at 7.2 per cent. New Zealand's Reserve Bank has hiked the benchmark interest rate to 4.25 per cent as it tries to get inflation under control, and some economists are predicting the country will go into recession this year.

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Ludhiana, Mar 8 (PTI): A worker died after a multi-storey building of a textile factory collapsed in the Focal Point area here late Saturday evening, officials said.

The six workers trapped under the debris were brought out by the NDRF teams. While one of them was found dead, the condition of three others is critical, they said.

The deceased worker is yet to be identified, they said.

The rescue operation is still underway to see if anyone is still trapped under the debris, they said.

According to the officials, one worker was earlier rescued and rushed to a nearby hospital, they said.

The incident occurred in the Focal Point Phase-8 area on Saturday evening.

According to an eye witness, a loud sound was heard before the building caved in.

Two teams of National Disaster Response Force and other teams of police, fire brigade and factories departments, the Municipal Corporation were undertaking the rescue operation.

Initially, seven workers were trapped under the debris.

Revenue Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian and Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal are personally overseeing the rescue efforts at the site.

They emphasised that the top priority is to rescue the trapped workers.

The deputy commissioner stated that the health department has been instructed to deploy medical teams and ambulances at the site until the operation is complete.

The municipal corporation and fire safety department have also been directed to depute their additional staff there round-the-clock.