Maharaj is considered to be a very influential leader who enjoys massive following in the hill state and elsewhere because of his religious sermons.
Congress leader of 20 years from Uttarakhand, Satpal Maharaj, today joined BJP in the presence of party president Rajnath Singh. Both the leaders addressed a press conference together afterwards.
He was upset with the party high command for quite some time. Last week, he had announced that he will not contest the Lok Sabha polls. The Pauri Garhwal representative in Lok Sabha was sidelined by the high command over major decisions and sidestepped by Harish Rawat for becoming chief minister of the state. However, he cited the neglect of party workers as the reason behind his decision to quit the Congress.
Maharaj is considered to be a very influential leader who enjoys massive following in the hill state and elsewhere because of his religious sermons. It is expected that the leaders of his camp will also join BJP sooner or later.
With this development, the fate of Congress government in the state hangs in balance. If five of Maharaj’s followers from the government join BJP, the government will collapse and BJP will hold the majority.
This will also affect the Lok Sabha election outcome in Uttarakhand.
Within minutes of joining BJP, Maharj endorsed party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. He said that he believed in Modi’s mission and vision and that everybody needs to work together in order to make India the best in the world.
It should be noted that only last Wednesday, Congress loyalist and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Jagdambika Pal had joined BJP. BJP has received surprising support by Congress allies and is treading towards the path of making new friends. While, it seems, that Congress is being left by its friends considering it a sinking ship.
