Stark example of dictatorship: Congress slams Mahendra Bhatt’s unanimous re-election as Uttarakhand BJP chief
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.
Congress state spokesperson Garima Mahara Dasouni minced no words in her condemnation. "Nominating only one candidate and repeating the same state president clearly indicates a severe lack of promising leadership within the BJP," Dasouni stated, elaborating on the party's stance.
Garima further said, "The nomination process for this election was conducted in a completely undemocratic manner," adding, "There cannot be a bigger, more blatant mockery of BJP's 'one person one post' policy than this."
She asserted that Bhatt's re-election had exposed the party's true colours. "By repeating Bhatt, BJP's true face stands exposed before the people of the entire state," Garima alleged, questioning the integrity of the internal party election.