The BJP on Saturday appointed Mahendra Bhatt as the president of its Uttarakhand unit.
Bhatt, a former MLA of Badrinath in Chamoli district, replaces Haridwar MLA Madan Kaushik as the BJP's state unit chief. Bhatt had lost the assembly polls held earlier this year.
With the appointment of Bhatt, a brahmin leader from the Garwhal region, the BJP has tried to strike a balance between caste and region in its leadership ranks. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is a Thakur from the Kumaon region.
A senior party leader said Bhatt, 50, has risen through the ranks working in Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the BJP's youth wing. He is of RSS background.
His appointment was made by BJP president J P Nadda, a letter signed by BJP national general secretary and in-charge of the party headquarters Arun Singh said.
Bhatt had lost to Congress' Rajendra Singh Bhandari from Badrinath in the state assembly polls held in February this year. He had won the seat in 2017.
Before winning from Badrinath in 2017 assembly polls, Bhatt was an MLA from Nandprayag seat in the state Assembly from 2002 to 2007.
Earlier, he held important positions in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha's state unit.
