Dehradun
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday changed the president of its Uttarakhand unit, replacing Bansidhar Bhagat with Madan Kaushik, days after it removed Trivendra Singh Rawat as the chief minister.
Talking to reporters after his appointment, Kaushik said, “We will win the 2022 elections in a big way and we will pass this agni-pariksha by winning over 60 seats.”
The overhaul in the party has come just a year ahead of the elections to the 70-member assembly.
Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned on Tuesday, nine days before his government was to complete four years in power, following a rebellion in the ranks against his decision to announce Gairsain as a new administrative division, party leaders said then. Several MLAs were upset that the leader kept many of his cabinet colleagues out of the decision-making process.
Kaushik, a four-time MLA from Haridwar constituency, was the spokesperson in the Trivendra Singh Rawat government. He also served as the cabinet minister between 2007 to 2012 in the governments of BC Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
Following the announcement, Bhagat told mediapersons that the party took the decision after considering all aspects and he will work in the interest of the party in whatever new role he is assigned.
{{/usCountry}}Following the announcement, Bhagat told mediapersons that the party took the decision after considering all aspects and he will work in the interest of the party in whatever new role he is assigned.
{{/usCountry}}Welcoming the change, BJP MLA Dhan Singh Rawat said Kaushik’s experience within the party and the government will benefit the party unit.
State BJP spokesperson Devendra Bhasin said he welcomed the changes in the party. “We are having elections here soon and these changes have been brought to strengthen the party and make sure that the party becomes victorious in the 2022 elections in a big way,” he said.
Ahead of the polls, with the appointment of Kaushik, who hails from Garhwal region, the BJP is expected to bring more changes to the state unit to balance the regional and caste equations.
The newly appointed chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat also hails from the Garhwal region, while the former state unit president Bhagat is from the Kumaon region.
A senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity said that for the first time the party unit president is from the plains and not the hill region of the state. “Also, it is likely for the first time that both state BJP president and the chief minister are from the Garhwal region. This will push the party leadership to bring more changes in the leadership here to strike a balance along the axis of caste (Thakur-Brahmin) and region (Garhwal-Kumaon),” the leader said.
The Brahmin community in the state was unhappy with the Trivendra Rawat government after he constituted the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board in January 2020 to manage all temples in the state.
“From Brahmins managing these temples, it was handed over to bureaucrats. This decision by Trivendra Rawat deeply upset the community,” a party leader said after the former CM resigned on Tuesday.
“A few days ago, when CM Trivendra Rawat carved out a new division of Garsain out of the existing Kumaon and Garhwal regions, it led to an outcry all over social media from many who considered themselves Kumaonis or Garhwalis but were now part of Garsain. Hopefully, Tirath ji will change these orders,” this leader said.