In a show of strength following the sudden defection of the then Badrinath MLA Rajendra Bhandari to BJP, the Congress party candidate from Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency Ganesh Godiyal took out an impressive road show in Gopeshwar town of Chamoli district on Tuesday. The road show started from the government degree college and passed through the police line and main market before culminating at the famous Gopinath temple. Large number of Congress workers and supporters attended the show.

It is pertinent to mention here that Gopeshwar is the headquarter of the Chamoli district, a major town of the Badrinath Assembly constituency and is considered to be a stronghold of Rajendra Bhandari who had defected to BJP on Sunday.

Addressing the people, Godiyal said that it appears that the BJP has lost confidence in its own leaders so the party is preying on the leaders of other parties. He said that in the last ten years the BJP had nothing due to which it is afraid to face the electorate. Godiyal said that the BJP has stepped up its campaign to force the leaders and workers of other parties by using every tactic in the book and fear of agencies into its fold. He said that today when he is in Gopeshwar, the Income Tax department has served three notices to him. “The BJP is trying to frighten me but I have nothing to hide and have done everything which is as per the law,’’ he said.

  Godiyal said that he had never thought that he would have to address the people of Gopeshwar without Bhandari. “I could not believe my ears when someone told me that Bhandari ji  had joined the BJP. I was in utter shock when I saw the video in which he was  seen joining the BJP,’’ he said.

 Godiyal said that the love of the people of Gopeshwar has strengthened his resolve to defeat the BJP.

 The party's Lok Sabha coordinator of Garhwal, Vikram Singh Negi, former MLA Manoj Rawat, president of Chamoli district Congress Mukesh Negi and other leaders were present on the occasion.