Uttarakhand Congress MLA Rajkumar jumps ship to BJP ahead of state elections in 2022

Uttarakhand’s MLA from Purola, Rajkumar has successfully joined BJP after resigning from the Congress Party. He joined the party at the BJP headquarters in Delhi in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami & State party president Madan Kaushik.

As a BJP MLA, Rajkumar told ANI, “BJP is working towards making people from the lower caste independent, while Congress has made these people dependent on subsidies since Independence. I've joined the party today after seeing BJP's great work in Uttarakhand.” Rajkumar was previously a member of the BJP in a five-year stint from 2007 to 2012. Although, he took the offer from the Congress party after the BJP did not give him a ticket for both the 2012 and 2017 polls. It is highly possible that he re-joined the party after being promised a contesting ticket for the next assembly polls that are scheduled to be held in Uttarakhand next year.

BJP's strategy to hold a steady ship for the next assembly elections

The BJP is trying to bring about stability in the state cabinet as the party has had three chief ministers since it came to power in 2017. In the assembly polls next year, it is said that the BJP will be introducing fresh candidates for multiple assembly polls. Currently, the cabinet consists of various high-level ministers and Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami being the youngest member of his own cabinet. The BJP has appointed MP Locket Chatterjee and the party’s spokesperson R.P. Singh to assist Pralhad Joshi’s campaign in Uttarakhand.

Joshi has the gigantic task of keeping the party united and replacing a few outgoing members of the party. He will also have to make sure that those members who are not awarded a ticket to contest the elections do not leave the party and join direct rivals in the state. The Opposition has a new addition as the Aam Aadmi Party has entered the state and has started to build its base. The BJP does not want to leave any stone unturned for the elections to be held in Uttarakhand in the year 2022, in such a situation, the coming of Congress MLA to the BJP is considered a big success of the party.

(With ANI inputs)