Trivendra Singh Rawat has been selected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in Uttarakhand, after the party won 57 out of 70 seats in the state assembly elections 2017. 56-year-old Rawat, who had been an RSS activist from 1983 to 2002, held the position of organising secretary of the Uttarakhand region at first and later the state. He has close ties with BJP president Amit Shah and has worked with him in Uttar Pradesh before the general elections of 2014. He has been elected for the third time from the Doiwala assembly seat, is also in-charge of BJP’s Jharkhand unit. Reports suggest that he had been involved in a ‘seed scam’ earlier. However, Rawat claimed that an investigation initiated by the Congress government had failed to prove him guilty. Rawat has a post-graduate degree in History and a diploma in Journalism from Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, according to his affidavit. The affidavit further states he has no criminal cases against him and holds assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.