Young BJP leader and national spokesperson of the party Anil Baluni filed his nomination for the lone Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand on Monday. Many BJP leaders were in the fray but the party high command decided to opt for Baluni.
The announcement was a setback for ex-Uttarakhand CM Vijay Bahauguna and state BJP president Ajay Bhatt, as they were also in the race for the upper house ticket.
Baluni filed his papers in Dehradun, in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and other senior leaders of the party. He is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
Hailing from village Nagot in district Pauri, Baluni’s sudden rise in politics was possible due to his deep links with the top brass. He is likely to get elected unopposed as the Congress is unlikely to field any candidate for the upper house election from Uttarakhand.
Baluni said, “I will raise issues of Uttarakhand in the House. In Modi government Uttarakhand is provided special focus. I will act as a coordinator between state and the Centre. Will do whatever I can do for my state.”
Though Trivendra Rawat and others were present, Vijay Bahuguna, Major General (Retd.) B.C Khanduri and Bhagat Singh Koshyari remained absent from the nomination.
Trivendra Rawat said, “India is a nation of youths and BJP is providing youth leadership a chance in politics. The nomination of Anil Baluni proves this. The focus of BJP is to increase the presence of youth leaders in Parliament.”