Uttarakhand’s last independent mayor joins BJP with 10 councillors

Srinagar mayor Aarti Bhandari, Uttarakhand's only independent mayor, and 10 councillors joined the BJP on Wednesday. The move gives the BJP mayors in all 11 municipal corporations in the state. Among those switching sides were two Congress councillors from Srinagar.

At a function at Dehradun party headquarters, BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt said the new entrants would infuse energy and help secure a decisive victory in the 2027 assembly elections. Cabinet minister Dhan Singh Rawat said Srinagar would benefit from a triple-engine government, referring to coordination among the Centre, state and municipal corporation. He also said the government had launched a Rs 72 crore scheme to supply round-the-clock water to the town and announced a membership drive to induct about 1,000 people in the Srinagar seat.

Bhandari said she was grateful to the BJP leadership and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for welcoming her, and that her ideological alignment with the party had remained intact despite contesting independently due to circumstances. Her husband, senior leader Lakhpat Bhandari, also joined the BJP on Wednesday.