Tirath Singh Rawat:The RSS worker who became Uttarakhand CM

After the resignation of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named Tirath Singh Rawat, the Lok Sabha MP from Garhwal constituency, as the state's new Chief Minister.

Rawat comes from a staunch Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) background. Despite playing an important role in the Sangh and the BJP's organisational structure for a long time, he is a leader who believes in keeping a low profile, staying away from the limelight.

He served as a full-time RSS worker for a period of five years. He was the first Education Minister of Uttarakhand after the state assumed its new, separate entity.

Rawat,56, has done post-graduation in Sociology from Birla College, Srinagar, Garhwal in Uttarakhand and also holds a PG diploma in the field of journalism. His wife is a college lecturer by profession. Born on April 9, 1964 in Seeron village of Pauri Garhwal, Rawat joined the Sangh's student organisation, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) during his student days.

Rawat has served as the Student Union President of Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University. He was also the ABVP's state organisation Minister in Uttarakhand and later also held the post of ABVP's national organisation minister. From 1983 to 1988, he took up the responsibility of being a full-time RSS worker.

After successfully discharging the responsibilities associated with the Sangh, he got an opportunity to enter mainstream politics with the BJP. In 1997, when Uttarakhand was a part of undivided Uttar Pradesh, he was elected a Member of Legislative Council. After the formation of Uttarakhand as a separate state, he became the first Education Minister of the hill state in 2000 under the BJP dispensation.

Rawat became the BJP's Uttarakhand state General Secretary in 2007. He also served as the Chairman of the Uttarakhand Natural Disaster Management Advisory Committee. In 2012, he became an MLA from Chaubattakhal Assembly constituency in Uttarakhand. At the same time, the BJP's national leadership made him the state president of the Uttarakhand BJP in 2013 due to his expertise in building the organisation.

He was the state President of Uttarakhand BJP on 31 December, 2015. Union Home Minister Amit Shah appointed him as BJP's National Secretary in 2017 during his tenure as the party's National President. The saffron party had fielded him from the Garhwal constituency during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and he won the election by a margin of more than 2.85 lakh votes.

A senior Uttarakhand BJP official told IANS,"Tirath Singh Rawat does not believe in factionalism. He believes in working hard and not creating a ruckus. He efficiently discharged his responsibilities being associated with both the Sangh and the BJP as an organisation. That is why on Wednesday, the party has handed over the Chief Ministers's post to him."