Only 1 Uttarakhand CM has completed 5-year term till now

Congress's Narayan Dutt Tiwari who led a Congress government from 2002 to 2007 was the only one to complete a full term

BJP MP Tirath Singh Rawat to become the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat announced on Wednesday after a meeting of BJP legislature party in Dehradun.

Trivendra Singh Rawat's resignation as the chief minister yesterday makes him part of a long list of chief ministers who didn't complete their full five-year term as CMs in the 20-year existence of the state. Only one among eight CMs of the state completed his full term in the office.

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Late CM and Congress leader Narayan Dutt Tiwari who led a Congress government from 2002 to 2007 with a small majority in the 70-seat Assembly, is the only CM to complete his full five-year tenure.

Nityanand Swami of the BJP formed the first government in Uttarakhand after the state was formed in 2000 following the bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh. Swami was in power for 354 days before he was replaced by RSS veteran and present Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari till the first Uttarakhand polls in 2002.

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Koshyari lost power in 2002 to Congress's Tiwari. Retired Major General B C Khanduri of the BJP replaced Tiwari. His term lasted two years and 111 days. Current Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank took over from him in 2009 and remained in power for two years and 75 days. B C Khanduri completed the government's term later on after he took over for 184 days.

Khanduri was known to have a strong anti-corruption stand and despite the change in leadership before the polls, the BJP was not able to retain power and in the 2012 election, Congress won 31 seats and BJP 31. With the support of three BSP, one Kranti Dal MLA and three independent MLAs, the Congress formed the government.

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In the full-year term of the government, however, Uttarakhand saw four chief ministerial terms. Vijay Bahuguna was the first CM for one year and 324 days. Bahuguna resigned in 2014 on the directive of the party high command.

Congress leader Harish Rawat took over the post. In March 2016, President’s Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand after nine Congress MLAs rebelled and joined hands with the BJP. However, the Speaker revoked their membership under the anti-defection law. The President’s Rule had to be withdrawn after Rawat won a court-monitored floor test in the Assembly. Following this, he continued as Chief Minister from May 11, 2016, till March 18, 2017. He also served as CM for a day, when the Supreme Court kept in abeyance a Uttarakhand High Court order setting aside President’s Rule.

In the 2017 Assembly polls, the BJP with a huge majority of 57 seats and Trivendra Singh Rawat was the first CM of the government to be voted into power in 2017. He resigned on March 10, 2021, after serving a shade under four years.