New Delhi, 28 March (H.S.):

Six prominent leaders from the Uttarakhand Bharatiya Janata Party, including two former legislators, joined the Indian National Congress on Saturday in a move that underscores growing discontent with the ruling BJP government in the state. The switch, formalised at the Congress headquarters here, is being framed by the opposition as a sign of rising public scepticism over corruption and governance in Uttarakhand under Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s administration.

Former BJP leaders cross over to Congress

The defectors include Raj Kumar Thukral, a two‑time MLA from Rudrapur, Narayan Pal, a two‑time former MLA, Bhim Lal Arya, a former MLA from Ghansali, Gaurav Goel, a former mayor of Roorkee, Anuj Gupta, a former chairman of Mussoorie, and Lakhman Singh Negi, a grassroots leader from the hills.

All six were formally inducted into the party by senior Congress figures, including former Union minister and Congress general secretary Kumari Selja, ICC general secretary Girdip Singh Sapal and Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal.

The ceremony took place at the party’s national headquarters, with Godiyal calling the new entrants “victims of the BJP’s arrogance” and asserting that the Congress has become the preferred political home for disillusioned BJP workers and office‑bearers in the state. The leadership welcomed the group as a boost to the party’s ground‑level organisation ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.

Congress attacks BJP’s record

Selja blamed the Dhami government for fostering what she described as a climate of “systemic corruption” and unaddressed local grievances. She highlighted a series of corruption allegations that have surfaced in recent months, saying that Congress leaders and activists have been systematically exposing irregularities in procurement, land deals and public‑works contracts. The party says public protests in the state, particularly in the hilly and small‑town belts, have drawn widespread participation, signalling that the Congress is regaining traction in areas where it had previously lost ground to the BJP.

Selja also questioned attempts to refurbish Dhami’s image, arguing that the Chief Minister’s public‑relations efforts have not matched the on‑the‑ground realities. She claimed that the accumulation of public anger, especially in the wake of forest‑fire management failures, road‑and‑power issues and job‑shortage complaints, has driven former BJP loyalists toward the Congress and other opposition parties.

Congress eyes 2027 power return

Godiyal said that the people of Uttarakhand are now looking to the Congress “with renewed hope” and that there is a visible surge in interest among local leaders and functionaries wanting to join the party. He described the six inductees as “experienced grassroots organisers” who have pledged to strengthen the Congress machine in their respective districts.

The state leadership has publicly set a target of forming a Congress government in the state by 2027, and the Uttarakhand PCC is now recalibrating its campaign‑tour strategy, booth‑level meetings and recruitment drives around this goal.

Political observers in Dehradun and New Delhi say that the defection of two former MLAs could influence voter sentiment in their constituencies and send a signal to other BJP dissidents in the hill districts to consider alternate political homes. Whether the exodus snowballs into a broader anti‑Dhami wave will depend, analysts say, on how the Congress translates these symbolic inductees into electoral gains at the booth level and in the urban‑rural intermediate belt of the state.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar