Bhagat Singh Koshiyari

Bhagat Singh Koshiyari is an Indian politician. He was the leader of the opposition of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2007. He had earlier served as the second Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, previously Uttaranchal under his administration.

Birth and early life

Bhagat Singh Koshyari was born in Almora on June 17, 1942. He completed his basic education in Almora and went on to receive a masters degree in English Literature from the University of Agra.

Political career

He joined the RSS. He took part in the struggle against the Emergency and was imprisoned. In 2000, he was appointed minister of Energy, Irrigation, Law, and Legislative Affairs of the newly created state of Uttaranchal. In 2001 he replaced Nityanand Swami as the chief minister. He has also served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party of his state. As a result of his party's defeat in the 2002 Assembly elections, he resigned as the chief minister and became the leader of the opposition of the Uttaranchal Legislative Assembly.

Despite the BJP's victory in the 2007 Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Koshiyari was deprived of the Chief Minister's post by his chief rival, Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri. Media reports have cited that the BJP's central leadership did not have confidence in Koshiyari's administrative capabilities, despite his support from the RSS and a majority of the elected MLA's.

External links

* [http://ua.nic.in/ Uttarakhand] NIC.
* [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/General_pips_state_chief_set_to_be_CM/articleshow/1704348.cms General pips state chief, set to be CM]