The Uttarakhand Congress is facing erosion of leadership as its senior leaders, sitting and former MLAs have started switching their loyalties to the BJP.

More than 12,000 Congressmen have joined the saffron party as the main Opposition party accused the state government of resorting to coercion to poach its leaders.

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The Uttarakhand Congress is facing the recurrence of the resignation of its popular leaders for nearly a week. Prominent on the list is sitting Badrinath MLA Rajendra Bhandari who resigned from the party and joined BJP in Delhi without wasting much time on Sunday.

Bhandari was the lone Congress MLA in the assembly from the Pauri Lok Sabha seat where the BJP has fielded its first-time candidate Anil Baluni, who is considered to be close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He vehemently campaigned for Congress candidate Ganesh Godiyal, considered stronger than Baluni in straight contest, before joining the saffron party.

Two days ago, former Congress MLAs, Vijaypal Sajwan and Malchand, mass leaders in Uttarkashi, had joined the BJP with their supporters.

Now, speculations are that Anukriti Gusain, a well-known former model and daughter-in-law of Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat who is facing a CBI probe, is set to hold on to BJP’s lotus soon. She resigned from the party on Sunday.

BJP leaders including the party’s state president Mahendra Bhatt have stated that 2-3 more sitting Congress MLAs are likely to join the ruling party. “More than 12,000 Congress MLAs have joined the BJP in the past few days. More opposition MLAs, their former legislators, and other senior party leaders may follow Bhandari’s footsteps in the coming days” said Bhatt.

“Congress leaders joining BJP have realised that that the Opposition has no future in the state. They want to move ahead under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the work being done by the union government. You should not be surprised if Congress legislators and senior party leaders of the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat join the BJP in the coming days. Many Congressmen want to join us in Haridwar now,” said former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, BJP nominee from Haridwar.

BJP media in-charge Manvir Singh Chauhan said, “More Congress MLAs are in touch with us. However, their BJP entry will depend on the state leadership’s decision. Congress leaders want to be part of the prime minister’s vision for a developed India. We are bound to win all five seats for the third consecutive term in 2024.”

However, Congress leadership alleged that the ruling party coerced its leaders to join the BJP. “Those who joined BJP were not tired of cursing the ruling party till a day before. But the BJP government in the state and their leadership went all-out to poach the Congress using fear of enforcement agencies. But the Congress will battle it out. They have resorted to coercion but only poll results will tell the truth,” said state Congress president Karan Mahra.