BJP veteran and former Uttarakhand CM B.C. Khanduri passes away

Popularly known as ‘General Sahab’, he earned a reputation as a disciplined and strict administrator

Updated – May 19, 2026 03:04 pm IST – Dehradun

The Hindu Bureau

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Major General (retd.) Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri is credited with executing the Golden Quadrilateral project, which successfully connected the four corners of India via highways. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Major General (Retd.) B.C. Khanduri (91) who died due to age-related ailments in Dehradun on Tuesday (May 19, 2026), donned several hats in his life. From soldier to parliamentarian, Union Minister and twice Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, he carried into public life the bearing of a military officer and built a reputation around restraint, integrity, and administrative rigour.

Born in Dehradun in 1934, Mr. Khanduri’s transition from the armed forces to politics in the early 1990s was not so much a leap into a new world as an extension of his belief in institutional order and public duty. He entered parliamentary politics from the Garhwal constituency and went on to become one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s most recognisable faces in Uttarakhand.

His national imprint was perhaps strongest during his tenure as Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways in the government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was closely associated with India’s major highway expansion efforts, including the Golden Quadrilateral project, and was credited with helping advance a transformative phase in the country’s infrastructure development.

As Chief Minister of Uttarakhand — a young State formed in 2000 and still defining its administrative identity — Mr. Khanduri governed with a reputation for strictness that earned both admiration and criticism. He pursued anti-corruption measures and sought to introduce systems aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability.

Politics, however, was not always kind to Mr. Khanduri’s style of functioning. His insistence on discipline and procedural order occasionally sat uneasily within the compromises of political life. Despite this, even his critics often acknowledged the personal austerity and integrity he brought to public office.

Mr. Khanduri, popularly known as “General Sahab”, was widely respected across political lines. His demise has been condoled by politicians, activists and people from all walks of life.

President Droupadi Murmu condoled Mr. Khanduri’s passing and, in a post on X, remembered him for his honest, simple, transparent and development-oriented approach to public service.

Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan also paid tribute to Mr. Khanduri, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X that he made invaluable contributions that would always be remembered. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami too expressed grief over the demise of the senior BJP leader.

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat also paid tribute and prayed for the departed soul. He described Mr. Khanduri as a personality of rare stature and said every phase of his public life would be remembered for “some goodness or the other”. “He was a person without enemies,” Mr. Rawat said.

Published – May 19, 2026 01:19 pm IST

Related Topics

Uttarakhand

/

death