By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 29 Jun: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has formally issued the election notification for the appointment of its new Uttarakhand State President, with the voting process scheduled to be held tomorrow i.e. on 30 June. As per the party’s internal procedure, nomination, voting, and counting of votes will all take place on the same day, with the result to be announced immediately thereafter. A formal declaration of the newly elected state president will be made on 1 July.
It may be recalled that according to the notification issued by the BJP’s central leadership, Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra has been appointed as the election observer for Uttarakhand.
In Uttarakhand, the election will see the participation of 125 voting members from within the state BJP structure. Besides electing the new State President, the process will also include the selection of national council members, who represent the state at the party’s central forum. Those who will be casting their votes in case of election, include the current BJP State President Mahendra Bhatt, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Union Minister of State Ajay Tamta, MPs Anil Baluni, Ajay Bhatt, Trivendra Singh Rawat and Maharani Rajya Laxmi Shah and cabinet ministers including Satpal Maharaj, Subodh Uniyal, Dhan Singh Rawat, Ganesh Joshi, Saurabh Bahuguna and Rekha Arya besides a large number of MLAs including Bishan Singh Chufal, Banshidhar Bhagat, Munna Singh Chauhan, and Madan Kaushik from Haridwar.
At present, the party’s state unit is headed by Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt, whose term has officially come to an end. Bhatt is still being considered a strong contender for a second term but some other names are also being speculated on as possible replacement to Bhatt. They include Dharampur MLA Vinod Chamoli, Party’s State General Secretary Aditya Kothari and MLA Khajan Das. With Khajan Das having been appointed as Election Officer, he has gone out of race for the top post. However, sources claim that senior BJP leaders from the state and centre are reportedly in ongoing discussions to ensure a consensus candidate emerges, keeping in view the evolving caste and regional equations within the state. Some sources claimed that, in case, Mahendra Bhatt is not repeated, it could be another Brahmin face from Garhwal who might replace Bhatt.
Party sources indicate that the organisational changes are being carried out with a clear eye on the 2027 Uttarakhand Assembly elections as well as strengthening the party’s internal machinery ahead of the upcoming panchayat and urban local body elections.
Some party leaders also claim that the BJP high command is considering fresh faces, possibly from the youth or organisational wing, to rejuvenate the cadre base and balance regional representation between Garhwal and Kumaon. Observers believe that the new president will have the twin responsibilities of reinforcing the party’s outreach in hill districts, many of which witnessed reduced margins during the Lok Sabha elections and aligning with the central leadership’s renewed focus on grassroots mobilisation under the Modi 3.0 government.
The election outcome is expected to shape the BJP’s internal roadmap for Uttarakhand over the next three years, but also the party’s campaign for the next Assembly elections due in 2027 as the party is aiming to secure a third straight win in the assembly elections.
