In a setback for the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Uttarakhand MP Rajendra Singh Bhandari joined the BJP here on Sunday and said Prime Minister Narender He was deeply impressed by Ra Modi’s leadership, which prompted him to take this step.

Bhandari, a three-time Congress MP and former minister in the state, was among the people of India, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal and the party’s national general secretary Dushent Kumar Gautam. Joined the BJP in the presence of senior party leaders.

Gautam is also the Uttarakhand in-charge of the BJP.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and BJP chief spokesperson Anil Baluni were also present at the event.

It is reported that Bhandari, who represented Badrinath seat in the Uttarakhand Assembly, had resigned from the Congress party before joining the BJP. He won the seat in the 2022 assembly elections by a narrow margin defeating the BJP’s Uttarakhand unit chief Mahendra Bhatt.

Badrinath is one of the 14 assembly constituencies that fall under the Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency, from which Anil Baluni of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest. parliamentary election. Among the 14 seats, Badrinath is the only one belonging to the Congress party. The rest belong to the BJP.

Addressing a press conference with BJP leaders, Bhandari said he was impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and work done for the progress of the country in the past decade and decided to join the ruling party.

“I am deeply impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies for the welfare of the poor. Under his leadership, continuous development is happening across the country. I want to do something to make India a developed country by 2047 Contribution, the target set by Prime Minister Modi,” he told reporters at the BJP headquarters.

Bhandari expressed his gratitude to BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president Nadda for allowing him to serve the country as a party worker.

“I would like to assure the party that I will be fully committed to the progress of the country and Uttarakhand and to serve the people,” he said.

“Bharuniji has been chosen as the BJP candidate from Garhwal. He is a person with a clean image. I want to assure you that I will work day and night. I am confident that he will emerge victorious in the Lok Sabha polls Lakhs of votes,” Bhandari added.

Welcoming him to the BJP, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Dhami said Bhandari has joined the BJP because of what he has done for Badrinath and the entire Uttarakhand under PM Modi “Impressed” by the work, including the implementation, reconstruction and more of the centre’s Char Dham project. Kedarnath and other developments in the state.

Dhami said that while there was already a “positive atmosphere” in favor of the BJP in Uttarakhand, it would get a further boost with Bhandari joining the “BJP family”, including in Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency.

“We will win all five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand by a huge margin,” he told reporters.

Piyush Goyal said Bhandari has been a “popular and influential” leader in Uttarakhand due to his work in various capacities. “He has served Badrinath and won hearts and minds over the years. He was elected to the state assembly three times, which shows that his popularity and influence are still growing because of his work.” He hoped that Bhandari would be more successful in connecting with the people While the party is together, it continues to serve the people with the same dedication.

Goyal, who will contest his maiden Lok Sabha polls in north Mumbai, also highlighted the achievements of the Modi government and claimed that the BJP-led New Democratic Alliance would return to power for a third consecutive term after the election.

Baluni expressed happiness over Bhandari joining the BJP and said it was a “special moment” for him.

“He is the sitting MLA from one of the 14 assembly wards in the (Garhwal) Lok Sabha constituency from where I was selected as the BJP candidate,” he said.

“Of the 14 assembly segments in the Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency, 13 already belong to the BJP. With Bhandari joining the BJP, the Congress now does not have any MLA there,” Baruni added .

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)