Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Uttarakhand Congress MLA and an eminent leader of the grand old party Rajendra Singh Bhandari joined the BJP on Sunday at the party’s headquarters in the national capital.

Bhandari, a three-term legislator who was also a minister in Uttarakhand in the past, joined the saffron party hours after his resignation from the Congress.

He was welcomed into the party-fold at the BJP headquarters in Delhi by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

The 60-year-old MLA from the Badrinath assembly seat in Uttarakhand after joining the ruling party, lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he has full faith in the BJP’s policies.

He said, “I have expressed my faith in the leadership of PM Modi, the way he has been working to lead the nation forward has inspired me… I have full faith in the policies of the BJP.”

Welcoming Bhandari to the party, Union Minister Goyal said the former Congress leader got inspired by the work of PM Modi and he will also serve the nation in the same spirit.

“We welcome Rajendra Bhandari. He has worked in the service of the people of Badrinath… The way PM Modi has worked across the country to eliminate corruption, protect the heritage and develop the nation has inspired Rajendra Bhandari to join the BJP. I hope he will continue to work with the same determination and with a sense of service,” Goyal said.

Uttarakhand CM Dhami said the induction of Bhandari into the BJP will add positive energy to the party.

“He (Rajendra Bhandari) has a long political career. He has joined the BJP because of the developmental work that we have done, and he is impressed by that. BJP was already in the position to win all five Lok Sabha seats of Uttarakhand but his addition to our family will add a positive energy. We welcome him to the world’s largest political party,” Dhami said.

The polling on all five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand will take place on April 19 in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Saturday.

The Gazette notification will be issued on March 20, with nominations ending on March 27 while the last date of withdrawal of nominations is March 30. The counting of votes will be done on June 4.

Since 2014, the BJP has held all five seats in the state — Almora (SC reserved), Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar, Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal.