Bhandari's desertion worst instance of 'opportunist politics', says Congress' Uttarakhand chief

Bhandari’s desertion worst instance of ‘opportunist politics’, says Congress’ Uttarakhand chief

Dehradun, Mar 18 (PTI) The Congress’ Uttarakhand unit chief Karan Mahara on Monday called the party’s Badrinath MLA Rajendra Singh Bhandari’s move to the BJP the worst example of “opportunist politics” and said the defection was orchestrated under “Operation Lotus”.

He also called every leader quitting the Congress to join the BJP in Uttarakhand recently “traitors” who defected to the saffron party out of “fear or avarice”.

In a setback for the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Bhandari joined the BJP on Sunday and said he was impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership that motivated him to take the step.

Bhandari, a three-term Congress legislator who was earlier a minister in the state, joined the BJP in the presence of its senior leaders, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

In his first reaction to Bhandari’s switch, Mahara said, “They have gone to the BJP in the hope of being cleansed of their blemishes in the saffron party’s washing machine.”

“Many others in the party have also gone to the BJP. They are all traitors who have quit the party either out of fear or avarice. They feel the BJP’s washing machine will cleanse them of their blemishes. There is a vigilance inquiry going on against Bhandari’s wife,” he said.

These are the factors that led Bhandari to quit the Congress and join the BJP, he said.

Bhandari’s sudden switch to the BJP took many by surprise as he was aggressively attacking Modi and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at his public meetings until recently.

Badrinath is one of the 14 assembly segments in the Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency from where the BJP’s Anil Baluni will contest the parliamentary elections.

The Congress in Uttarakhand looks like a divided house ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, with many important leaders — including former chief Minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri’s son Manish, former minister Harak Singh Rawat’s daughter-in-law Anukriti Gusain and ex-MLAs Vijaypal Sajwan and Malchand — leaving the party over the past few days.

Uttarakhand will go to the polls in the first phase on April 19