Former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat's daughter-in-law Anukriti Gusain joins BJP

Dehradun: Former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat's daughter-in-law and model Anukriti Gusain joined the BJP on Sunday.

Gusain (30) had contested the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly elections on a Congress ticket.

The BJP's Uttarakhand unit chief Mahendra Bhatt handed over the party's primary membership to Gusain at the its headquarters.

Gusain left the Congress before the Lok Sabha elections and released a video message appealing to the public to vote for the BJP and make Narendra Modi the prime minister once again.

Polling for Uttarakhand's five seats were held on April 19.

Rawat was expelled from the BJP due to his alleged closeness to the Congress before the 2022 assembly polls.

Later, both Rawat and his daughter-in-law joined the Congress and Gusain was fielded from Lansdowne in Pauri district. She lost to the BJP's Dalip Singh Rawat.

Gusain had won the Miss India Asia Pacific title in 2014.

After joining the BJP, Gusain expressed gratitude to Bhatt and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

She said she is impressed by the policies of the prime minister and the BJP and will work to strengthen the party.