He will be fifth CM from Pauri Garhwal

Sandeep Rawat

Tribune News Service

Haridwar, March, 17

Trivendra Singh Rawat, who will take the oath of Chief Minister office tomorrow, will be the fifth CM from Pauri Garhwal district. With this, the political hold of Pauri Garhwal district has once again got reaffirmated.

The first Chief Minister from the district was late Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna from 1973-75 when Uttarakhand was a part of Uttar Pradesh. Prior to his appointment as CM by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, HN Bahuguna served in the Centre in the capacity of Union Minister for Communication. He was a parliamentarian from Allahabad. Bahuguna was born in Bughani village in Khirshu tehsil near Pauri and also represented Pauri Garhwal constituency in 1980 and 1984 parliamentary elections.

After the creation of Uttarakhand on November 9, 2000 in a span of 17 years, Pauri Garhwal district has given four Chief Ministers. Major General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (retd) had two Chief Ministerial tenures.

In the 2007 Assembly election, when the BJP formed the government in the state, Khanduri, the four-time Pauri Garhwal parliamentarian, was made the Chief Minister. Khanduri’s native village is Radha Ballabhpuram, formerly known as Margadna, in Pauri. Though he was replaced on June 23, 2009, due to a turmoil in the party, his successor Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank also hails from Pauri Garhwal. Nishank’s native village is Pinani, 72 km from Pauri town in Pauri Garhwal. He has been a two-time legislator from the Thailisan segment of Pauri Garhwal district.

The BJP replaced Nishank with Khanduri once again on September 11, 2011. His tenure continued till March 2012.

Pauri Garhwal district made a hat-trick when Vijay Bahuguna was made Chief Minister after the Congress government was formed after the Assembly elections in 2012.

Just like his father HN Bahuguna, Vijay Bahuguna too couldn’t complete his five-year tenure and was replaced by Harish Rawat on January 31, 2014.

Now, Trivendra Singh Rawat will be Chief Minister tomorrow.

Yashpal Benam, former legislator from Pauri and current municipal chairperson, says, “It is a matter of pride for the people of Pauri that politicians from the district went on to become Chief Ministers and held major Cabinet berths.”

“Despite all this, the development of Pauri Garhwal has not been as desired. I hope that the state government under Trivendra Singh Rawat will take up the issues of backwardness, unemployment and lack of health and transport facilities in the district,” he added.