Premchand Agrawal’s abrupt resignation as a Uttarakhand cabinet minister on March 16, 2025, has breathed new life into an old superstition: the R-2 bungalow in Dehradun’s Yamuna Colony is cursed. Once home to irrigation officers in undivided Uttar Pradesh, this modest residence became a ministerial perk after Uttarakhand’s creation in 2000. Yet, its track record tells a tale of disrupted tenures, with Agrawal’s exit—prompted by a furor over his remarks against hill communities—adding fresh fuel to the legend. Here’s how the bungalow’s strange history has unfolded over the years.

Built decades ago in the quiet Yamuna Colony, R-2 transitioned from a bureaucratic dwelling to a political hotspot when Uttarakhand emerged as a state. Since then, its occupants have faced an uncanny pattern of premature departures, save for a rare exception. The timeline speaks for itself:

• 2002-2004: The Curse Takes Root
  Shoorveer Singh Sajwan, Uttarakhand’s irrigation minister under Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari, moved into R-2 in 2002. His stay ended in July 2004 when he was dropped from the cabinet—a casualty of the 91st Constitutional Amendment capping ministry sizes. Though a procedural cut, it planted the seed of the bungalow’s “jinxed” reputation.

• 2007-2016: A Defiant Streak, Then a Fall
  Harak Singh Rawat seemed to break the spell. As Leader of Opposition in 2007, he settled into R-2 and completed his term without incident. He stayed on as a minister in 2012, still unscathed. But in 2016, the jinx caught up: Rawat revolted against Chief Minister Harish Rawat, losing his ministerial post, Assembly seat, and the bungalow in one fell swoop. His early success couldn’t outlast the house’s shadow.

• 2022-2025: Agrawal’s Downfall
  Enter Premchand Agrawal, a BJP stalwart allotted R-2 in 2022. His tenure unraveled on March 15, 2025, after inflammatory comments in the Assembly sparked outrage. He resigned the next day and left the bungalow on March 17, cementing R-2’s notoriety once more.

The R-2 saga mirrors a similar superstition surrounding Dehradun’s chief minister’s residence. Vijay Bahuguna lasted just two years there from 2012 to 2014. Harish Rawat sidestepped it entirely, bunking at the Bijapur guesthouse from 2014 to 2017. “I planned to move in after the elections, but the government changed,” he later said. Trivendra Singh Rawat braved it in 2017, only to step down in 2021. Yet Pushkar Singh Dhami, there since 2021, has defied the odds, securing a second BJP term in 2022 and holding firm as CM.

So, is R-2 truly a harbinger of political doom? Harak Singh Rawat’s initial run suggests the curse isn’t ironclad, but the fates of Sajwan, Rawat’s later collapse, and now Agrawal hint at something uncanny. For Uttarakhand’s leaders, the bungalow offers prestige with a catch—a quiet residence that seems to whisper trouble. As its doors await the next tenant, R-2 stands as a test of nerve, luck, or perhaps just coincidence in a state where politics is rarely predictable.