By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 28 May: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Nitin Nabin arrived in Dehradun this afternoon on a three-day visit to Uttarakhand. He was accorded a grand welcome by the party leaders and workers at Jolly Grant Airport. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed him at the airport in the presence of BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt, Prem Chand Aggarwal and several senior party leaders.
Hundreds of BJP workers had gathered at the airport to welcome the national president with flower garlands, drums and traditional musical instruments including dhol and damau. Women associated with the party also accorded him a traditional welcome while dressed in yellow sarees and wearing the traditional nath. From Jolly Grant Airport to the BJP state headquarters located on Balbir Road in Dehradun, party workers and leaders assembled at several locations to greet him with flower garlands and slogans.
After reaching the BJP office, Nabin met party office-bearers and senior organisational leaders. He later held discussions with party representatives and conducted two important meetings during the day. According to party sources, several key organisational and political issues were discussed during these meetings. The visit marks Nabin’s first tour of Uttarakhand after becoming the BJP national president.
As part of the schedule, he chaired a BJP Core Group meeting at the party’s state headquarters on Balbir Road at around 6.15 p.m., which lasted nearly an hour.
Later in the evening, he also held a meeting with members of the Uttarakhand Cabinet. Party sources claimed that the discussions focused on organisational strengthening, coordination between the government and the party organisation and preparations for the 2027 Uttarakhand Assembly elections.
According to party sources, Nitin Nabin is expected to continue his engagements tomorrow with a visit to Tapkeshwar Temple, where he will offer prayers before meeting CM Dhami at the CM’s residence. Nabin is also scheduled to visit Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple for darshan before having breakfast at the residence of booth president Kishor Kumar at Booth No 141 near Tapkeshwar in Dehradun Cantt. Preparations are in full swing at the residence of the booth president for the national president’s visit. The local party workers have expressed enthusiasm over the arrival of the party’s top leader at the home of a grassroots-level worker. The breakfast menu prepared for the occasion is expected to reflect a blend of Uttarakhand and Nepali cultural traditions, considering the sizeable Gorkha community residing in the area. Party workers said the national president would be welcomed with traditional curd-and-rice tika from Nepali culture and presented with a khada as part of the reception ceremony.
The BJP President is also scheduled to hold meetings with BJP MLAs and MPs. These meetings are expected to focus on the prevailing political situation in the state, opposition activities and the public perception of the government.
After completing the organisational meetings, Nabin is also scheduled to participate in an intellectual conclave to be organised at Shivalik College of Engineering. On the third day of his tour, he is expected to hold meetings with booth committees, mandal executive members, mayors, district panchayat chairpersons and block pramukhs. He will also interact with party office-bearers holding various responsibilities in the state and deliberate on several important political and organisational matters. Party insiders said the BJP is focusing more on organisational strengthening, direct outreach to beneficiaries and effective small-scale programmes instead of relying only on large public rallies or election promises. The national president is expected to discuss this strategy extensively with party functionaries during the remaining part of his visit.
The three-day visit is being viewed by the party leaders as highly significant in the context of the 2027 Assembly elections in Uttarakhand. Party leaders believe the visit will help strengthen coordination between the organisation and the government while energising workers at the grassroots level.
