Finally, Ajay Bhatt gets his due after a long wait as he is elevated to the post of Minister of state in Union government as MOS

BD Kasniyal/Ajay Ramola
GG News Bureau
Pithoragarh/ Dheradun/Delhi, 8th July. Included in union council of ministers as minister of state MOS, Ajay Bhatt, the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar in Uttarakhand has long waited for the elevation since he was made the BJP state president in the year 2017.
Ajay Bhatt on Thursday took charge as Minister of State (MoS) for Defence as well as Tourism and is the member of Standing Committee on defence, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Committee on Subordinate Legislation; Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019, and Committee on Estimates as per the government sources.
He has served as Cabinet Minister in Uttarakhand, holding portfolios such as Parliamentary Affairs, Health and Disaster Management. He was also the Leader of the Opposition in State Assembly and he was instrumental in getting party 57 seats in state assembly.
“Ajay Bhatt was due for an elevation as not only he won 57 seats for state assembly but also defeated the iconic congress leader from region, Harish Rawat from Nainital parliamentary Constituency in 2019 general elections, “said Gopal Rawat, a state executive member of BJP based in Nainital.
Born in the year 1961 in Dwarahat subdivision of Almora district, Ajay Bhatt, became active in politics by entering youth wing of BJP in the year 1985.
In last 36 years of public life, Bhatt worked as BJP working committee member, Uttarakhand Pradesh Sangharsh Samiti member, organizer of Almora Pithoragarh parliamentary constituency before been elected to UP assembly in the year 1996. He became MLA from Ranikhet second time in the year 2002, won again in the year 2012, became leader of opposition as well as BJP chief in the year 2015, and finally reached Lok Sabha defeating Harish Rawat from Nainital in the year 2019.
“The poor Boy, from Dhankalgaon in Dwarahat, who had to work as vegetable vendor and tea stall owner to complete his LLB from Ranikhet finally found his tryst with destiny on Wednesday when he was elevated into union council of ministers.” Said Rajendra Jaswal, his media advisor in Ranikhet.
As a MP from Nainital he raised several issues of local interest in parliament including the issue of constructing Jamrani Dam in Haldwani and several issues related to man animal conflict in Kumaon region. “By becoming union minister from Nainital parliamentary seat, he became third union minister from the seat after late ND Tiwari and KC Pant, “said Gopal Rawat.
The highlight of his career when he became health minister in the interim government formed in 2001 where during his visit to Mussoorie he burned the bug-ridden mattresses that were being used in the government civil hospital for the inhouse patients and ordered new mattresses without any delay. This event made him popular and established him as the leader with clean image, said Vijay Ramola who was the general secretary of the local BJP unit then.
The party workers are happy at his elevation and are of the view with the kind of experience he has in various levels along with the organizational skills he would be asset to the government ay centre and state. “ The tourism industry is struggling and we hope that the minster would do something to revive the tourism based economy of the state”.
In a message on Twitter, Ajay Bhatt thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party leadership for giving him the responsibility and said he would strive towards ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’.