The election cauldron on the boil with leaders switching sides, BJP, buoyant in the aftermath of the Narendra Modi Government’s crackdown on black money, has received another shot in its arm as a former Cabinet Minister and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal leader Diwakar Bhatt joined the party at the latter’s headquarters in Dehradun on Friday.
Defending his switch, Diwakar Bhatt said he had done the right thing to join a national party which is dreaming to set things right in the long vegetating hills while the regional parties have lost their significance. The State BJP chief Ajay Bhatt who was present when the UKD leader joined BJP said it would further strengthen his party’s base in the poll-bound State.
Ajay Bhatt further said that the popularity graph of his party was on an upward swing with the people having realised that BJP was the only party with leaders charged with missionary zeal to right the rot set deep in the system. “It is clear to the people that BJP can deliver the real good to the people of the Himalayan State,” he said.
Upping his ante against the ruling Congress, the state BJP leader said the people are waiting impatiently to throw the corrupt Congress Government out. “The increasing number of leaders from other parties joining the BJP has confirmed the trend that the people are yearning for a change,” Ajay Bhatt said.
Asked whether the switch from other parties would make the ticket hopefuls more impatient, he said that the leaders who are joining his party are doing so unconditionally. “We have given them no assurance that they would be favoured with tickets,” he added.
However, the new entrant said while talking to the media persons that he was ready to contest the upcoming election from Deoprayag constituency from where he contested the election twice in the past against Mantri Prasad Naithani.
Diwakar Bhatt further said though he had started his political career in a regional party he was happy having joined a national party. “The regional parties having lost direction, I am happy to have joined BJP, a party that has the courage of conviction to take the country ahead in the right direction. I am really impressed with the vision that Narendra Modi has for the uplift of my State,” he said.
Notably, the then UKD leader had trounced the present Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani who contested on a Congress ticket from the prestigious Deoprayag seat in 2007 election. His party later helped BJP form the Government and Bhatt was made a Cabinet Minister. However, things reversed in 2012 election as Naithani, contesting as an independent, defeated Bhatt who contested on BJP ticket from the same constituency.
It is apt to recall that Bhatt was later suspended from UKD following dissension within UKD reaching a feverish pitch. The party leaders demanded him to quit the BJP Ministry, alleging that the BJP-led Government was not acting on the UKD manifesto. However, Bhatt stood his ground and was subsequently suspended from the party.