U'khand BJP disappointed over denial of Cabinet berth

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Uttarakhand are disappointed over the state not getting a representation in the Union Cabinet with most of them maintaining that the party's impressive performance in the Lok Sabha polls in the hill state should have earned it a seat or two in Narendra Modi's council of ministers.

"It has definitely come as a bit of a disappointment (Uttarakhand not getting a cabinet berth). We did deserve a berth or two in the cabinet considering our poll performance," leader of opposition in the state assembly Ajay Bhatt told PTI.

However, he said the Pradesh unit of the party had not lost all hope and expected that the state would get represented in the cabinet when it is expanded.

"Rajasthan which got 26 seats and Himachal which also had a bigger tally than ours did not get a cabinet berth. So there is no reason for despair. I am confident that when the Prime Minister goes for an expansion of his Cabinet, some room will be made for all the states which have been left out," he said.      

Ascribing a positive motive in the move, Bhatt said Uttarakhand was perhaps left out in the initial round as the state is close to Modi's heart and he has some bigger plans for it.

"Modi was in charge of the party's affairs in the hill state during the years of its inception and he has a particular soft corner for it. He must definitely have thought something better and bigger for it," he said.

Conceding that Modi's responsibility towards states which had contributed more substantially to the party’s seat tally countrywide was bigger, Bhatt said he had total faith in his organisation and was not worried at all about Uttarakhand getting a fair deal from the party bosses.

Echoing Bhatt, party's media incharge Umesh Aggarwal said though disappointed a bit temporarily party cadres here are not in a mood of despair.

"I feel Uttarakhand will get due representation in the Union Cabinet when it is expanded which I think should not take long," he said.

BJP which won all the five seats from Uttarakhand wresting four from Congress and retaining one seat was expecting at a least a berth in Modi's cabinet.

Former Chief Minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, who was the surface transport minister in Vajpayee's cabinet, had emerged as the top contender for a cabinet berth due to his seniority over the two other former BJP CMs who won from their respective Lok Sabha seats.

Image: Ajay Bhatt