First time in 25 years, BJP re-elects sitting Uttarakhand unit chief Mahendra Bhatt

Dehradun, July 1 (IANS) Securing a record back-to-back term, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and sitting Uttarakhand party president Mahendra Bhatt was on Tuesday re-elected unopposed to the top post, a party leader said.

Bhatt, 53, is the first sitting BJP Uttarakhand president to get a successive term in 25 years, said a party leader.

He represented the Badrinath Assembly segment between 2017-2022 and Nandaprayag between 2002-2007.

The announcement of Bhatt’s re-election was made by Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra who was deputed as the central election officer by the national leadership to oversee the organisational election process.

The new state BJP president’s name was announced in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

The names of state leaders for the National Council Member are also to be announced as papers for the process were filed on Monday, among others, by Union Minister of State in MoRTH, Ajay Tamta, Dhan Singh Rawat, former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, Tirath Singh Rawat, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Rajya Sabha MP Kalpana Saini and Lok Sabha MPs Mala Rajyalakshmi Shah and Ajay Bhatt.

On Monday, Bhatt had filed his nomination papers for the post and handed over his papers to state election officer Khajan Das,

He was the lone party leader to file nomination for the top post in the presence of CM Dhami and state BJP in charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam.

Das said Bhatt filed five sets of nomination papers with 10 different party leaders signing on the documents as his introducers.

The ongoing BJP organisation elections in states are a precursor to the much-awaited mega exercise for electing a new National President.

According to the party’s constitution, the process for electing a successor to current National President J.P. Nadda can begin only if presidents in at least 19 out of its 37 organisational states are elected.

The threshold of election of presidents in at least 19 states is likely to be crossed on Tuesday as single nomination for the post was filed in states like Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Monday.

Also, the names of new state presidents in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are likely to be announced in the coming days.

V.P. Ramalingam and K. Beichhua were elected BJP presidents of Puducherry and Mizoram, respectively, on Monday.

--IANS

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