Ajay Bhatt files nomination from Ranikhet

DEHRADUN: Amid chanting of Vedic hymns, state BJP president Ajay Bhatt filed his nomination papers in Ranikhet constituency on Saturday and kicked off his campaign in the cantonment town in Almora district. Bhatt was accompanied by senior leaders Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Union minister Ajay Tamta and state unit functionaries. Interestingly, the BJP state chief consulted an astrologer to fix the time for filing his nomination.
A close aide of Bhatt revealed that the nomination papers were filed in tehsil office at 2:47 pm, which was the auspicious time given by the astrologer.
Addressing the gathering outside the office, Bhatt said, “The huge turnout here is an indication that it’s the beginning of the end of Harish Rawat government, and the people of Uttarakhand will throw out Congress for looting the state.”
The BJP in Uttarakhand has made Congress versus PM Modi the main highlight of the poll campaign. The seat has over 78,000 voters and a keen contest is expected here.
For the saffron party, winning seat is of immense importance since Bhatt is one of the contenders for the CM’s post and in 2012 he had won with a very thin margin of 78 votes against Congress candidate Karan Mahara. Interestingly, Mahara had won the same seat in 2007 after defeating Bhatt.
Another BJP leader Gopal Singh Rawat also filed his nomination in Gangotri on Saturday. So far 21 candidates in the state, mostly Independents, have filed their nominations. These include three from Dehradun, four in Nainital, and three in Almora and Pithoragarh each.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Saturday issued a notice to BJP for usage of words, which it found unparliamentary. The saffron party had published advertisements in newspapers with a phrase ‘dalalo ka jaal’. The EC has raised strong objection to it. Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi has asked the party to explain why the phrase should not be treated as violation of model code of conduct.