Uttarakhand jinx: Except ND Tiwari, no other CM could complete 5-year term

The state has seen chief ministers change almost ten times in the past 20 years since it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000.

Politicians across the political spectrum believe that whosoever lives in the CM house in Dehradun is not able to complete his five-year tenure in the state.

Dehradun: Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat addresses a press conference after tendering his resignation on Tuesday, (PTI)

With Trivendra Singh Rawat’s resignation as the chief minister a year before the completion of his five-year tenure, the belief has got stronger in the state's political circle.

The state has seen chief ministers change almost ten times in the past 20 years since it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh after a violent agitation in 2000.

The only chief minister to complete his tenure of five years was Congress' Narayan Dutt Tiwari who became the chief minister in 2002.

Indira Hridayesh, leader of opposition said it was Vijay Bahuguna first who had lived in the CM house and couldn’t complete his term. “When Harish Rawat became the CM, due to fear of the jinx, he didn’t live in the CM House. He lived in the Bijapur area in Dehradun. ND Tiwari was the only CM who completed his five-year term and also stayed there. Due to the fear of this jinx, many CMs didn’t live there. But Trivendra Singh Rawat chose to live in the CM house. I think some Vastu experts had also been brought to check it in the past,” she said.

Historian Shekhar Pathak said though many believe in this jinx, the fact is that it was the weakness of the respective governments that the chief ministers couldn’t complete their terms.

“There is another jink that may be talked about now. After the Kedarnath tragedy in 2013, Vijay Bahuguna lost his post of CM and now post the Chamoli tragedy the same has happened with Rawat. But these are just speculations. People, including politicians, try to see a pattern in such developments,” he said.

Professor MM Semwal, a political analyst from Garhwal University, said this jinx has been always talked about in state politics as no CM except for ND Tiwari could complete his five-year term. “But from a logical point of view, I don’t think we can link political developments to such superstitions. All these major political changes in the state over the years have political reasons. One house cannot affect or bring such changes,” he said.