By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 2 Apr: In a significant political development ahead of the forthcoming Uttarakhand Assembly elections, the BJP has intensified its membership drive in the State. Several prominent leaders from the Congress including some women leaders joined BJP at a major programme held at the party headquarters today in Dehradun. On this occasion, BJP State president, BJP General Secretary Deepti Rawat were among those present. Among those who joined the BJP on Saturday, were former District Panchayat president of Rudraprayag, Laxmi Rana and Meena Sharma. The development is being seen as a notable setback for the Congress, even as both parties continue efforts to expand their organisational base in the run-up to the 2027 elections.
The induction ceremony was held in the presence of BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt, who formally welcomed the new entrants into the party fold by offering them party stoles and garlanding them. Among the prominent Congress leaders who joined the BJP were Meena Sharma, senior vice-president of Mahila Congress and former chairperson of Rudrapur Municipal Council, Darshan Lal Arya, former Assembly candidate from Ghansali in 2022, and Laxmi Rana, former District Panchayat President from Rudraprayag and a Congress candidate in the 2017 elections.
The list of those switching allegiance from Congress to BJP today also included former Congress state spokesperson Anil Sharma, Rudrapur Mahanagar Congress Seva Dal president Sanjeev Rastogi, along with Ram Prasad, Sumit Rai, Dinesh Maurya, Poonam Gupta, who served as senior vice-president of Mahanagar Congress Rudrapur, Manju Jain, Mahila Congress general secretary, Shweta Sharma, Sudarshan Sharma, Rinku Bisht, Arvind Saxena, Devendra Prasad Joshi, Dev Ram Raturi and several others. Their induction in one of the largest such events in recent weeks reflects the BJP’s aggressive outreach strategy and organisational mobilisation across the state.
The BJP headquarters witnessed considerable activity since Saturday morning, with party leaders and workers actively engaged in the membership campaign. Elaborate arrangements had been made to facilitate the induction programme, underlining the importance being attached to the drive by the party leadership. Mahendra Bhatt appeared visibly enthusiastic about the response to the campaign and expressed confidence that more leaders and workers from other parties would join the BJP in the coming days.
Addressing the gathering, Bhatt stated that the membership drive was being carried out on a large scale ahead of the Assembly elections, with the objective of connecting more people to the party and strengthening its grassroots presence. He said the campaign would also serve as a platform to take the achievements of the BJP government and the organisation to the people. He attributed the growing influx of leaders and public representatives into the BJP to the work undertaken by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the state and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national level, asserting that their governance and leadership had inspired confidence among the public.
Bhatt further remarked that public representatives often face pressure from their constituencies, which influences their political decisions, and alleged that the Congress had misled the people, the consequences of which it was now facing. He claimed that a large number of Congress leaders were in touch with the BJP and hinted at more high-profile inductions in the near future, stating that the party already had a long list of prospective entrants.
Reaffirming the party’s preparedness for the 2027 Assembly elections, Bhatt launched a sharp attack on the Congress, asserting that the opposition party would once again face defeat. He expressed confidence that the BJP would return to power for a third consecutive term in the state.
On the occasion, State general secretary Deepti Rawat Bhardwaj said that the BJP has consistently prioritised the upliftment, dignity and self-reliance of women. She added that various welfare schemes of the Central and State governments had brought about significant and positive changes in their lives. She noted that under the leadership of Narendra Modi and Pushkar Singh Dhami, women were receiving enhanced opportunities both in society and governance, which had strengthened their faith in the BJP. She also observed that a growing number of women were aligning themselves with the party’s ideology and actively contributing to nation-building.
During the event, the women Congress leaders who joined the BJP claimed that they are influenced by the welfare-oriented policies being implemented under the leadership of the Prime Minister and were committed to working with dedication to strengthen the organisation.
