Trivendra Singh Rawat - Narendra Modi's CM pick – faces an uphill task of keeping Uttarakhand ​BJP united

As Trivendra Singh Rawat prepares to take charge as the CM of Uttarakhand, he faces a Herculean task of keeping the BJP's flock of 57 MLAS intact and living up to PM Modi's expectations in delivering the big promises made to the voters of the hill state in the party manifesto during the assembly elections.

Pic courtesy: Twitter

Dehradun: Living up to his habit of throwing surprises, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday put his seal of approval on Trivendra Singh Rawat's name to be the next Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, nearly a week after BJP defeated Congress and made an impressive comeback in the hill state after the hotly contested assembly elections 2017 here. 

It is said that Rawat's appointment as Uttarakhand CM was approved by the BJP central leadership, however, he was formally chosen as the BJP legislative party leader by the party's newly-elected MLAs today.

Rawat, the former Uttarakhand unit chief of BJP, will be sworn-in as the Chief Minister in a grand ceremony believed to be attended by all top leaders of the party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah. 

Believed to be a hard-boiled RSS 'pracharak', Rawat is known for his excellent organisational skills. 

The 56-year-old leader is also credited of strengthening BJP in Uttarakhand and is currently the party in-charge of Jharkhand.

He is also the convener of the Narendra Modi government’s flagship programme for Ganga cleanup, the ‘Namami Gange’ programme.

Rawat contested the 2017 assembly elections from his traditional Doiwala seat and defeated his nearest Congress rival Hira Singh Bisht by over 24,000 votes.

Rawat, a dedicated 'swayamsewak' of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, enjoys good relationship with BJP national president Amit Shah, who is considered to be the chief architect of the party's victory in the hill state.

Rawat has also been in close touch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the latter was a General Secretary of the BJP and in-charge of Uttarakhand.

He has built a place for himself in national politics after he worked alongside Amit Shah in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls during which BJP swept all but seven seats. He is also credited with the BJP's win in Jharkhand.

Rawat started his political career as a grassroot RSS worker in 1983 and held the key post of organizing secretary of the Uttarakhand region at first, and later the state. 

He first won from the Doiwala Assembly seat in 2002. He became a Cabinet minister when, in the 2007 Assembly polls, the BJP formed its government here and served as state agriculture minister till 2012. 

However, this was followed by two debacles when he lost the 2012 Assembly polls from the Raipur seat, and the 2014 by-elections to the Doiwala seat to the Congress.

In the race to become Uttarakhand's Chief Minister, Rawat outsmarted the likes of Satpal Maharaj and Prakash Pant, who were too considered as big contenders for the top job.  

Rawat is a double MA in history and holds a diploma in journalism from the HN Bahuguna University, Garhwal.

He also had his share of controversies when his name figured in the multi-crore seeds scam. However, he was given a clean chit following a probe initiated by the Congress government later.

Another notable aspect of Rawat's political career is that he has no criminal case registered against him, according to the affidavit filed by him before the Election Commission of India.

He is known to be a polite and suave man with a deep understanding of the issues crippling the state and enjoys goodwill of the BJP top brass. 

The BJP won a landslide victory in Uttarakhand. It bagged 56 out of the 70 seats and dislodged Harish Rawat of the Congress.

As he prepares to take charge as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, he faces a Herculean task of keeping the BJP's flock of 57 MLAS intact (11 of whom had crossed over from the Congress to the BJP few months before the polls), and living up to PM Modi's expectations in delivering the big promises made to the people of the hill state in the party manifesto during the assembly elections.