Trivendra Singh Rawat (born 20 December 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the
Chief Minister of Uttarakhand
The chief minister of Uttarakhand is the chief executive of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief mi ...
between 2017 and 2021.
Rawat was a member of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...
from 1979 to 2002 and held the post of organizing secretary of the Uttarakhand region, and later the Uttarakhand state, after the state's formation in 2000. He was elected from Doiwala in the State's first legislative assembly elections in 2002. He retained his seat in the 2007 elections and served as the State's Minister of Agriculture.
As a member of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
, Rawat served as
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
's in-charge and Uttarakhand cadre's president. Winning from Doiwala again in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
, he was named the Chief Minister after his party won
majority
A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster
Kotdwar
Kotdwar is a city, municipal corporation in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, India. It's just 101 km from Pauri town , the district headquarter. It is the eighth-largest city in Uttarakhand. Its old name was "Khohdwar", which means the g ...
tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its adminis ...
, in
Pauri Garhwal district
Pauri Garhwal is a district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Its headquarters is in the town of Pauri. It is sometimes referred to simply as Garhwal district, though it should not be confused with the larger Garhwal region of which it is o ...
of
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
. He was the ninth and youngest child in the family. He obtained his master's degree in journalism from Birla Campus in
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its ...
affiliated to the
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University
Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University(HNBGU) (formerly known as Garhwal University) is a Central University, established in 1973, located in Srinagar, Uttarakhand in Northern India. The university is named after Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, f ...
.
Rawat joined the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...
in 1979 before becoming its ''pracharak'' (campaigner) for the
Dehradun
Dehradun () is the capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, district and is governed by the Dehr ...
region in 1985. Subsequently, he joined the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP), the political party associated with it. He was made BJP's organizing secretary for the Uttarakhand region and worked with the senior leader
Lalji Tandon
Lalji Tandon (12 April 193521 July 2020) was an Indian politician who served as the 18th Governor of Madhya Pradesh and 28th Governor of Bihar. He had also served as a member of parliament from 1996 until 2014 and as the Leader of the Opposition ...
at the time. He was also actively involved in the
Uttarakhand movement
The
Uttarakhand movement refers to the events of statehood activism within the undivided state of Uttar Pradesh which ultimately resulted in the formation of Uttarakhand, India as a separate state. Uttarakhand became a state on 9 November 2000. ...
, during which he was arrested several times. After the region received
statehood
A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "st ...
in 2000, Rawat was made the state cadre's BJP president.
Rawat lost a by-election from Doiwala in 2014, when the seat was vacated by former Chief Minister
Ramesh Pokhriyal
Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank" (born 15 July 1959), is an Indian politician who was appointed on 31 May 2019 to serve as Minister of Human Resource Development and as of July 2020, following the ministry's name change, his title was changed to Min ...
.
Chief Minister
In 2017 he won the same Assembly constituency of Doiwala. His 27 July 2017 tweet about linguistic preferences sparked off controversy and he was accused of preferring Garhwali language over the Kumaoni language.
In July 2019, Rawat said that cow is the only animal that exhales oxygen and that living in close proximity to cows could cure tuberculosis. This unscientific statement sparked off a controversy.
On 9 March 2021, Rawat resigned from the post of the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. This was following meetings with the BJP leaders in Delhi, whom the observers from centre gave their report about the growing dissent against Rawat among MLAs and ministers, including mismanagement during the Chamoli flash floods.
In May 2021, Rawat said that coronavirus is also a living organism which has a right to live, just like humans. The virus is changing its form constantly. The opposition criticized him and said that his statement is foolish and nonsense, and he has lost his mind and has no vision.