Beginning his political career with the BJP in undivided Uttar Pradesh, he joined the BSP in 1996 and quit it two years later to join the Congress.
After a long stint of 18 years with the Congress, he rebelled against the previous Harish Rawat government to join the BJP in 2016.
He was expelled from the BJP recently as he allegedly insisted on party tickets for himself and his daughter-in-law for the Assembly polls.
Rawat became a minister four times, once in undivided Uttar Pradesh and thrice in Uttarakhand.
He became a minister for the first time in undivided Uttar Pradesh’s Kalyan Singh government in 1991 but could not complete his term as Singh had to resign after the Babri mosque demolition.
Harak Singh became a minister again in 2002 in the ND Tiwari-led government in Uttarakhand but he had to resign after being charged with rape.
He became a minister again in 2012 when the Congress formed the government but quit the party before completing his term as he revolted against Harish Rawat.
He then became a minister in the BJP government and remained in that capacity until January 16 this year when he was expelled from the primary membership of the BJP besides being discharged of his responsibility as a Cabinet minister a month ahead of completing his term.
He has a reputation for speaking his mind and does not mince his words even while criticising his own government.
Before he was expelled from the BJP, he fought with his own cabinet colleagues over his demand for a medical college in Kotdwar, his constituency, and threatened to resign.
He was persuaded to stay on after he got a clear-cut assurance from Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to concede his demand.
Rawat who does politics on his own terms has never lost in any of the Assembly elections held in Uttarakhand since its creation.
His winnability is perhaps the secret behind his enduring relevance, a political commentator said.
