Dehradun: Uttarakhand BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. A former MLA, Bhatt would fill the slot in the Upper House to be vacated by the BJP's national media in-charge Anil Baluni whose tenure comes to an end in April.
He was handed the certificate of election by the returning officer at the Vidhan Sabha in the presence of several party leaders including MLAs Khajan Das, Umesh Sharma Kau and State BJP General Secretary (Organization) Ajeya Kumar. His unopposed election to the Upper House seat was a foregone conclusion as no other candidate entered the fray. Bhatt filed his nomination on February 15.
Bhatt was elected to the state assembly for the first time in 2002 from Nandprayag. In 2017, he was elected from Badrinath assembly constituency after a gap of several years during which he held various organisational positions including that of the party's chief whip in the state assembly from 2002-2007.
From 2007 to 2010, Bhatt was state BJP secretary, Garhwal convener and a member of the party's state working committee. From 2010 to 2012, he served in a position equivalent to a state minister. Bhatt became the president of Uttarakhand BJP in July 2022 succeeding Haridwar MLA Madan Kaushik.
