All about Tirath Singh Rawat, BJP karyakarta who 'never imagined' he'd be Uttarakhand CM

The BJP Central leadership on Wednesday announced that its current MP from Garhwal, Tirath Singh Rawat, is the new face for the Chief Minister's position in the poll-bound state of Uttarakhand. Rawat was a member of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly from Chaubttakhal constituency between 2012-17. He is the National Secretary of BJP and its former party chief for Uthharkhand.

The Uttarakhand BJP unit held a meeting on Wednesday involving representatives from the central leadership where Tirath Singh Rawat was chosen to be the new face for the Chief Minister's position.

Tirath Singh Rawat was the first education minister of Uttarakhand

Active in politics for two decades, Rawat has been close to the Rashtriya Swayamseva Sangh (RSS). In 2019, he was elected as a Member of Parliament to the 17th Lok Sabha. Tirath was the first education minister of the state when Uttarakhand was formed. He was also appointed as the state general secretary of Uttarakhand in 2007 followed by the positions of state chief electoral officer. In 2012, he was elected as MLA and went on to become the chief of Uttarakhand's BJP unit in 2013.

What led to Tirath's election for CM's post? 

Trivendra Singh Rawat who would have completed four years as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on March 17 resigned following an internal strife in the state BJP unit. The saffron party cadre had apprised the BJP's central leadership about the unpleasant atmosphere in the state under the now former CM. The BJP MLAs were reportedly also demanding an expansion of the state cabinet as three births were vacant for two years.

Trivendra Singh Rawat had met the BJP's top leadership in New Delhi over the last few days. As per sources, the political crisis in the state was triggered when the Aam Aadmi Party sensed a political opportunity there and reached out to a senior minister in the Uttarakhand government, offering him to be the CM face. Following this, when the BJP sensed trouble, a churn for leadership had already begun. Trivendra Singh Rawat was called to Delhi and shown an internal survey demonstrating his dropping leadership graph which he was allegedly unable to explain to the party's satisfaction. Following this, he resigned, thanking the party for the opportunity to be CM.

Names of Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, Nainital MP Ajay Bhatt, state Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni, and state minister of Higher education Dhan Singh Rawat were also mentioned in the race for the CM's position. However, Tirath Singh Rawat emerged the party's pick. He is to be sworn-in at 4 pm on Wednesday.