With two Chief Ministers taking oath one day after the other from the Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand, the district has come into limelight. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat both belong to the same district. Apart from Rawat, three out of nine Uttarakhand ministers who took oath on Saturday – Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat and Dhan Singh Rawat – belong to the same district.
Trivendra Singh Rawat is not the first person from the district to take over as the Chief Minister. In the past, late Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna who presided from 1973-75 was also from the region. Bahuguna represented Pauri Garhwal constituency in 1980 and 1984 Lok Sabha elections.
The district has given the states four Chief Ministers. Major General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (retd) had two Chief Ministerial tenures. His successor Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank also belongs to the same district. Later Vijay Bahuguna, who took over as the CM 2012, hailed from Pauri Garhwal. Harish Rawat who replaced him in 2014 also belonged to the same district.
Apart from politics, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Army chief Bipin Rawat and R&AW chief Anil Dhasmana also belong to Pauri. However, Doval has hardly spent any time in the state. A 1968-batch Indian Police Service officer of Kerala Cadre, Doval has on several instances been involved in anti-insurgency operations in Mizoram and Punjab.
Born into a Rawat Rajput family in Pauri Garhwal, Army chief Bipin Rawat joined the Indian Army in December 1978. He was commissioned into the 5/11 Gorkha Rifles. For over the last three decades, Rawat has garnered experience of serving in combat areas. His family has also served the army for generations.
