In a move that may be viewed as a major blow to the Congress party in Uttarakhand, Cabinet Minister Yashpal Arya along with his son Sanjeev Arya and their supporters joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday. Appreciating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘politics of performance’, Arya said that the nation had started its developmental journey under the Prime Minister’s leadership and that now it is the turn of Uttarakhand to take a step towards making it “Uttam Pradesh” (best state). This he averred is possible only with the BJP being elected to form government in the State. Arya joined the BJP in the presence of its National President Amit Shah, vice president and State in charge Shyam Jaju, party’s state election in charge Dharmendra Pradhan, MPs and former chief ministers Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri along with ex-MlA and ex CM Vijay Bahuguna among others.
According to information from the party, Arya along with his son and their supporters joined the BJP in the presence of its national president and various office bearers at the central and state levels. After becoming a member of BJP, Arya said that he had been impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy, leadership and vision. He also expressed appreciation for the ‘politics of performance’ espoused by Modi, adding that the people of Uttarakhand should elect the BJP to form the government in order to develop the state into an “Uttam Pradesh”. Further expressing his faith in the party national president’s vision and policy, Arya said that “the BJP had consistently won and also become the biggest political party in the world which would suffice to show the faith reposed by the public in the party”.
Observers opined that Arya and his son becoming members of the BJP is likely to have a considerable impact on the Congress’ organisational condition in Uttarakhand. A veteran and senior leader of the Congress, in the cabinet, Arya was handling the portfolios of revenue and land management, irrigation, rural engineering services, cooperative and industrial development among others. He was also considered to be among those at the top of the party’s organisational hierarchy, having also held the post of the Pradesh Congress Committee president in the past. He is also projected as a leading Dalit representative in the Kumaon region. Considering his stature, the BJP has fielded him as its candidate from the Bajpur (SC) constituency and his son Sanjeev Arya from the Nainital (SC) constituency. Though Arya had joined the BJP on Monday, he had reportedly not resigned from his position in the state cabinet. According to chief minister Harish Rawat’s chief spokesman Surendra Kumar, “He had not tendered his resignation. He was removed from the state cabinet as directed by the governor Krishan Kant Paul on the recommendation of Chief Minister Harish Rawat,” he said.