Political tides are shifting in Uttarakhand as Badrinath's incumbent MLA, Rajendra Singh Bhandari, defecting to the BJP has caught the Congress party off guard. Following this, Uttarakhand's Congress chief Karan Mahara has petitioned assembly speaker Ritu Khanduri to dismiss Bhandari's membership under the anti-defection law.
With Mahara's assertion that Bhandari's resignation from Congress and joining BJP invalidates his legislative position, he urges for his disqualification. The recruitment of Bhandari by BJP, led by central minister Piyush Goyal, Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami, and BJP candidate Anil Baluni was a strategic blow to Congress.
The victory of Bhandari over BJP's state president and sitting Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt in the 2022 Uttarakhand assembly election by over 2000 votes signals a major shift in the local political landscape. Despite the supporters of Congress's Ganesh Godiyal from the Pauri Lok Sabha constituency criticizing BJP's Baluni as an outsider, Baluni's induction of Bhandari into BJP is a significant upset for Congress.
Inspired by PM Modi's Leadership: Rajendra Bhandari
Amongst BJP's high-ranking leaders in Delhi, Rajendra Singh Bhandari expressed his belief in PM Narendra Modi's capable leadership, vowing to follow his lead and secure victories for BJP candidates. He emphasizes his motivation stems from Modi's inspirational leadership. Even Manish Khanduri, a senior BJP figure and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister, switched camps from Congress to BJP earlier this month.
Interestingly, the Badrinath assembly constituency, once the sole bastion of Congress within the 14 assembly seats under the Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency, has witnessed BJP's move as they nominate their chief spokesperson Anil Baluni as their candidate. Three-time Congress MLA from this region, Rajendra Bhandari, ousted BJP's Prem Ballabh Pant in 2012, and defeated Mahendra Bhatt in a closely fought contest for the Nandprayag seat before the 2007 delimitation.
