Ex-Uttarakhand CM Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri's Son Joins BJP Day After Quitting Congress

Uttarakhand News: Manish Khanduri had entered politics in 2019 by joining the Congress. Just the day after quitting the grand old party, he joined the ruling BJP.

Manish Khanduri, son of BJP veteran and former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just a day after resigning from the Congress. The joining ceremony took place at the BJP's city office in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, state BJP president Mahendra Bhatt, and party in-charge for Uttarakhand Dushyant Gautam.

Welcoming Manish Khanduri to the BJP, Mahendra Bhatt highlighted the significant contributions of his father, Major General (retired) Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, in the development of Uttarakhand as a Union minister and two-term chief minister of the state, news agency PTI reported. Bhatt expressed his gratitude, stating, "We welcome him as he has now come to his own family, the state BJP chief said."

Upon joining the BJP, Manish Khanduri expressed his confidence in the party's vision for nation-building and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. He stated, "The BJP is the only political party that provides a platform from which one can contribute to nation-building, and Narendra Modi is the only leader capable of steering the country on the path of development", as quoted by PTI.

Addressing questions from reporters, Khanduri clarified that he did not join the party seeking a ticket to contest elections but rather to serve as an ordinary party worker.

Manish Khanduri's Background and Resignation from Congress

Manish Khanduri had entered politics in 2019 by joining the Congress, which fielded him from Uttarakhand's Garhwal (Pauri) Lok Sabha seat in the general elections that year. However, he lost the seat to Tirath Singh Rawat by over three lakh votes.

His decision to resign from the Congress on Friday raised questions about his motivations. State Congress president Karan Mahara stated that the party gave him full respect and mentioned his previous ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls. However, he suggested that various factors, including family pressures, might have influenced Khanduri's resignation, PTI reported.

"Many things happen. Some times there is family pressure too. His father is a senior BJP leader and sister the speaker of the Uttarakhand assembly. But the exact cause of his resignation can be found out only when I talk to him," he had said, as quoted by PTI.