By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 30 Jun: The nomination process for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Uttarakhand State President and National Council was held at BJP State Headquarters here today. Rajya Sabha Member and the current BJP State President Mahendra Bhatt has once again emerged as the sole contender for the top organisational post. He is now set to be re-elected as the party’s state president for another 3-year term. His nomination, proposed by Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami, former chief ministers and all the members of Parliament from the state, is set for unopposed election for a second consecutive term.
The formal ratification is expected at the provincial council meeting tomorrow in the presence of the central observer. Nominations were also received for positions in the party’s national council.
With no other nominations filed, Bhatt is virtually assured of retaining the state presidency unopposed. He filed his nomination in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami and other senior party leaders. Speaking with the media after submitting his papers, Bhatt remarked that he was committed to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s proud organisational traditions and democratic values, and that he had formally filed his nomination papers at the BJP state headquarters in Dehradun.
Addressing the media after the nomination process, State Election Officer Khajan Das shared that, as per the pre-announced schedule of the ‘Organisation Festival’, the nomination process for the State President and eight National Council members was conducted between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. today. Bhatt submitted his nomination in five sets, each endorsed by ten separate proposers. The lead proposers included Chief Minister Dhami, former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, National Media In-charge and Garhwal Lok Sabha MP Anil Baluni, Almora MP Ajay Bhatt and Union Minister Ajay Tamta. Other proposers comprised State General Secretary (Organisation) Ajey Kumar, former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Rajya Sabha MPs Naresh Bansal and Kalpana Saini, Tehri Lok Sabha MP Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah, State Cabinet Ministers Satpal Maharaj, Ganesh Joshi and Subodh Uniyal, former State President and MLA Bishan Singh Chufal, MLAs Vinod Chamoli, Umesh Sharma Kau, Vinod Kandari, Ram Singh Kaira and Mahant Dilip Singh Rawat, alongside Brijbhushan Gairola.
Das confirmed that no other nominations were received for the post of State President. The formal announcement of Bhatt’s election will be made tomorrow by Central Observer and Union Minister of State, Harsh Malhotra during the council meeting, where provincial members will give their formal approval.
Very importantly, nominations for National Council positions were also received for Dhan Singh Rawat, Ajay Tamta, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Tirath Singh Rawat, Ajay Bhatt, Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah and Kalpana Saini.
Assistant Election Officers Pushkar Kala, Meera Ratudi and Rakesh Giri, along with government appointees Jyoti Gairola, Subhash Barthwal and Kuldeep Kumar, State Vice President Mukesh Koli, State Office Secretary Kaustubhanand Joshi, State Media In-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan, numerous party officials and senior karyakartas also participated in the proceedings.
It may be recalled that Mahendra Bhatt had first assumed charge as State BJP President on 30 July 2022, succeeding Madan Kaushik. Bhatt’s legislative career had begun in 2002 when he was elected as a BJP MLA from the Nandprayag constituency. Although he faced defeat in 2007, he returned victorious in 2017 from the Badrinath constituency. Despite losing the 2022 assembly election, he was appointed State President by the party and subsequently elevated to the Rajya Sabha on 2 April 2024.
Widely regarded as a vocal and influential leader within Uttarakhand BJP, Bhatt hails from Brahman Thala in Chamoli district and was born in 1971. His political journey began in 1991 with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, where he held roles such as Co-Secretary and Department Organisation Secretary in Tehri division. He became Secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha in 1998 and later went on to serve as its State General Secretary (2000–2002) and State President (2002–2004). Recognising his grassroots appeal and organisational experience, the party nominated him for the state’s inaugural assembly elections, and he was elected from Nandprayag in 2002. After facing setbacks in 2007, he made a strong comeback from Badrinath in 2017.
Throughout his political career, Bhatt has also contributed as a member of various committees including the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board Estimation Committee, Assurance Committee, Migration Committee and Housing Committee. However, it will also be pertinent to remind here that despite having long organisational experience, Bhatt not only failed to retain his assembly seat of Badrinath in 2022 but also could not ensure a win for the party candidate and outgoing MLA (then in Congress) Rajendra Bhandari in the 2024 Assembly bypoll.
