By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 6 Jun: BJP State President and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt addressed a press conference at the party State Headquarters here today. This was his first formal interaction with the media after the BJP managed to win all the 5 Lok Sabha seats from the state. Bhatt said that this Lok Sabha election is important for Uttarakhand and, along with being historic, it is a mandate to move forward in the direction of building a developed India and a better Uttarakhand. He thanked the BJP workers and all the voters of the state for their immense support.
Bhatt stressed that, this time, BJP managed to get a good lead in 60 out of 70 assembly segments against its political rival Congress but added that the party will hold a booth level review of its performance in the elections. It will also introspect about what needs to be done in these assembly segments to improve the performance of the party there. He however expressed satisfaction over the election results in the state reminding the media persons that as compared to the 2022 assembly elections, BJP has improved its performance. In the assembly elections, BJP had won in 47 out of 70 assembly seats, whereas in the recently concluded Parliamentary Elections, BJP managed lead in 60 out 70 assembly segments.
Bhatt thanked all sections of society including the BJP organisation, Matri Shakti, youth, elderly, soldiers and ex-servicemen, farmers, workers, government and non-government employees for their invaluable support for the party. Bhatt said that this mandate shows that Prime Minister Modi and BJP have been successful in winning the hearts of the people of the country. For the first time after 1962, a coalition in the country has been successful in winning the trust of the people for the third consecutive time. He added that this mandate will also be remembered for the hat-trick of making the lotus bloom on all five seats of the state by the ‘great people’ of Uttarakhand. Apart from this, the results also indicate that despite a strong conspiracy of those who wanted to grab power under the guise of casteism, appeasement and empty announcements, could not succeed in their plan. At the same time, a mandate has been given against the corruption, nepotism and anti-national forces.
The BJP State President claimed that the mandate is for the double engine government of the state under the guidance of PM Modi and the leadership of CM Dhami. At the same time, it is in favour of the bold decisions of the state to move forward on the path of development at a rapid pace and to maintain the original character of Devbhoomi. The public has blessed the tough decisions taken by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the state.
Bhatt said that in comparison to the last elections held in 2022, BJP remained ahead in all 14 assembly constituencies of two Lok Sabha seats namely Pauri and Almora. In Nainital Lok Sabha constituency, BJP lagged behind in only 1 assembly while in Tehri, BJP led in 11 out 14 assembly segments. In Haridwar, too, BJP has improved its performance in 2022 and has taken the lead in 8 out of 14 assembly seats. Despite low voter turnout, the margin of victory BJP achieved this time is almost equal to last time. In response to a question, he said that the margin of victory remained slightly lower in Pauri and Haridwar seats mainly because in both these constituencies, the BJP candidates were fighting Parliamentary Elections for the first time. Conceding that the target for the NDA was 400 but could not achieve the target, he asserted that NDA’s win for the third straight time in the country is in itself a historic achievement. This has happened for the first time since 1962 that a party and its alliance have got mandate at the Centre for the third straight time. The Opposition is deliberately trying to undermine and downplay the victory of BJP and the NDA despite the fact that BJP alone won 240 seats which is more than the entire tally of the INDI Alliance.
BJP General Secretary Aditya Kothari, BJP Spokesperson Suresh Joshi and BJP’s State Media In charge Manveer Chauhan were also present during the press interaction.
