Another BJP leader joins Congress

DEHRADUN: In a jolt to the opposition BJP in Uttarakhand, senior party leader Narendra Rautela has joined the Congress. Rautela, who enjoyed the rank of state minister in the tenure of the previous BJP government, parted ways with the saffron party on Wednesday.
An influential leader, Rautela has a strong hold in the Kumaon region. In 2002, Rautela had contested from the Ranikhet assembly seat as an Independent candidate.Thereafter, he joined the BJP and was appointed the vice-chairman of the industrial advisory board.
The assembly seat is now represented by BJP state chief and leader of Opposition in the house Ajay Bhatt, who won the 2012 elections from the seat.
Congress state spokesman Mathura Dutt Joshi confirmed that Rautela has joined the Congress. “First, Rautela took the Congress membership in the presence of state chief Kishore Upadhyay and then met with chief minister Harish Rawat at Bijapur guest house,” he said.
Joshi claimed that presence of Rautela will benefit the Congress in the entire Kumaon region. However, BJP leadership said that Rautela’s exit will make no difference to the party. BJP spokesman Munna Singh Chauhan said, “Despite being a BJP member, Rautela was working for the Congress, therefore, his exit will make no difference to the party.”
In the past few months, a number of prominent BJP members, including legislators Dan Singh Bhandari, Bhim Lal Arya and senior leader Geeta Thakur, have joined the Congress.