Uttarakhand : Harish Rawat defeated, for the last many years, the disaster of defeat is coming on Harda!
Harish Rawat is one of the most senior Congress leaders in Uttarakhand. But for the last few years, defeat has been behind him in such a way that he is not giving up. In the year 2017, while being the Chief Minister, he contested from two seats Haridwar Rural and Kichha, but he had to face defeat on both. After this, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress made him its candidate from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar Lok Sabha constituency, but here too he was defeated. Now in the Uttarakhand assembly elections of 2022, former CM Harish Rawat has to face a big defeat from Lalkuan assembly seat. His rival BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht defeated him by 14 thousand votes.
Harish Rawat was the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2014-2017. He was the Minister of State for Labor and Employment in the UPA government at the Center from 2009 to 2011. From 2011 to 2012, he was Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. In 2012, he was promoted and made a cabinet minister and was given the responsibility of the Department of Water Resources. He remained in this post till January 2014, resigning from the Union Cabinet to assume the responsibility of Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Harish Rawat’s journey from Mohanri, a small village in Almora district in Uttarakhand to the Chief Minister and Union Cabinet, has been full of ups and downs like life in the mountains. Harish Rawat has played an important role in strengthening the organization of Congress in many states.
Personal life of Harish Rawat
Harish Rawat was born on 27 April 1948 in Mohanri village of Almora district of the then UP. His father’s name was Rajendra Singh Rawat and mother’s name was Devaki Devi. He belongs to a Kumaoni Rajput family and his village comes under Adbauda-Mohanari Gram Sabha. After doing his initial studies from Government Inter College Chanaliya, Harish Rawat took BA from Lucknow University and LLB degree in 1978-79. He married his fellow Congress leader Renuka Rawat. Renuka Rawat also took a law degree from Lucknow University.
Political journey of Harish Rawat
Harish Rawat’s political journey started from the level of Gram Sabha, which later progressed as a member of Trade Union and Youth Congress. In the year 1980, he got his first big success when he reached Parliament from Almora Lok Sabha constituency defeating BJP’s big leader Murli Manohar Joshi. After this, in 1984, he defeated Murli Manohar Joshi by an even bigger margin. By the time of the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, the Uttarakhand movement had also started taking a big form. In the meantime, he defeated Kashi Singh Airi, a big leader of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) and reached the Lok Sabha for the third consecutive time. However, this time the margin of victory was less. As we said, his life was full of ups and downs, his vote percentage dropped further in 1991 and he lost the election. After this, he had to face defeat from Almora seat for four consecutive times in 1996, 1998 and 1999 elections. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Congress gave him ticket from Haridwar seat and this time he got success and he reached Lok Sabha for the fourth time. In February 2014, he took oath as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and remained the Chief Minister till 2017. During this, he won the by-election from Dharchula seat of Uttarakhand in July 2014 and became a member of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. In the 2017 Uttarakhand assembly elections, Harish Rawat contested the assembly elections from two seats, Haridwar Rural and Kichha, but he lost both the seats. Being the Chief Minister, losing both the seats was a big setback for Harish Rawat. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he once again changed his constituency and contested from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar seat, but once again he had to face defeat.
Harish Rawat’s three-year journey as Chief Minister was very turbulent. After the Kedarnath disaster of 2013, the then Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna faced a lot of criticism over the rehabilitation program and eventually had to resign. At such a time, Harish Rawat took over the responsibility of the Chief Minister and proved his coronation as Chief Minister by winning from Dharchula Assembly seat. In March 2016, 9 Congress MLAs rebelled against the government and Harish Rawat’s government was reduced to a minority. The central government imposed President’s rule in the state. Harish Rawat was reinstated as Chief Minister after winning the trust vote in May 2016. While being the Chief Minister, Harish Rawat contested the assembly elections from two seats in Haridwar and Kichha in 2017 and lost both. Thus ended his tenure as Chief Minister and MLA of Uttarakhand.
Harish Rawat’s political journey is more than four decades, so how can his story be so short. When Uttarakhand emerged as a separate state in the year 2000, he was unanimously elected as the President of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee. In the year 2002, Congress made him a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand quota and till 2008 he was a Rajya Sabha member.
