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Independent MLA from Bhimtal joins BJP, third legislator to join party in 2 months
Kaira is the third MLA to join the BJP from the Opposition. Before him, independent MLA from Dhanaulti constituency- Pritam Singh Panwar and Congress MLA from Purola constituency- Rajkumar had joined the ruling party last month at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
Independent MLA from Nainital’s Bhimtal constituency, Ram Singh Kaira, joined the ruling BJP at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Friday in the presence of senior party leaders including Union minister Smriti Irani.
Kaira had won the Bhimtal constituency during the 2017 state assembly elections amid the thumping mandate given to the BJP in the same elections. He had earlier held many senior party positions in the state Congress unit including the post of state general secretary.
Kaira is the third MLA to join the BJP from the Opposition. Before him, independent MLA from Dhanaulti constituency- Pritam Singh Panwar and Congress MLA from Purola constituency- Rajkumar had joined the ruling party last month at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
Welcoming him to the party fold, Uttarakhand BJP president Madan Kaushik called him a very popular leader in his constituency.
“Having started his political career with student politics, Kaira also actively participated in the statehood movement before joining Congress which he left to contest independently in the 2017 elections. He is a very popular leader in his constituency and has always raised issues in the state assembly with determination to make the Congress uneasy at times,” said Kaushik.
“His inclusion in the party will make it stronger in the Bhimtal area,” he added.
Senior BJP leader and Union minister Smriti Irani said, “It is a matter of pride that a person like Kaira who has contributed immensely to the state of Uttarakhand, has joined BJP today.”
“We wholeheartedly welcome him to the world’s biggest party and we are hopeful that working along the party lines, he will help in taking the state ahead on the path of development,” Irani said.
Kaira while expressing his gratitude for the welcome meted out to him in the party said that he decided to join BJP as he thinks it is the “only party which works for the people”.
“While working as an independent MLA, I contemplated and figured out that BJP is the only party which works for the society and country and not politics. I was greatly influenced by PM Modi’s thoughts and hence decided to join the party,” said Kaira.
The Congress in turn has claimed that MLAs joining the BJP will not make any difference in the 2022 state assembly elections. “It does not matter how many MLAs BJP gets to join their party. It did nothing for the development of the state in the last four and half years. It will lose the upcoming 2022 state assembly elections,” said Congress state president Ganesh Godiyal.
