DEHRADUN: The re-election of Mahendra Bhatt as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Uttarakhand unit has sent ripples of surprise and concern not only among BJP leaders who aspired for the coveted post but also within the opposition Congress.Mahendra Bhatt’s unanimous re-election came after he was the sole candidate to file nominations for the top party post in the state. The formal announcement of Bhatt’s re-election, alongside the selection of members for the party’s National Council, was made on Tuesday during the Provincial Council meeting by Central Election Officer Harsh Malhotra.Confirming the details, State Election Officer Khajan Das told this newspaper, “Former Chief Ministers Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Trivendra Singh Rawat, and Tirath Singh Rawat, among eight senior leaders, have been elected to the National Council.”The nomination process for both the state president and National Council members commenced on Monday at the state BJP office. Bhatt submitted his nomination papers for the president’s post to State Election Officer Khajan Das in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, State In-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam, and a host of other senior party functionaries.The Congress party has been particularly vocal in its criticism, denouncing Bhatt’s continuous reappointment as a stark example of ‘dictatorship’ rather than democracy within the saffron party. They assert that this move points towards an ‘undeclared emergency’ looming over the party’s internal functioning.
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