NEW DELHI: In a significant political development ahead of the Uttarakhand assembly elections early next year, Ramsharan Nautiyal, father of Bollywood playback singer Jubin Nautiyal, joined the Congress on Monday, just days after severing his ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The induction ceremony took place in the national capital, marking the return of a leader who had once been closely associated with the grand old party.
Ramsharan Nautiyal was formally welcomed into the Congress fold in the presence of AICC Uttarakhand in-charge Kumari Selja, Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal, and Yashpal Arya, the Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. Senior party leaders described the move as a homecoming, pointing out that Nautiyal had begun his political journey with the Congress before crossing over to the BJP.
Speaking at the joining event, Kumari Selja said, “Our old associate, Ramsharan Nautiyal, felt stifled within the BJP. He became disillusioned with the environment and the way things functioned there.” Her remarks underlined the Congress’s pitch that a growing number of leaders from the hill state are disenchanted with the ruling party’s internal culture.
Ganesh Godiyal, who formally inducted Nautiyal, struck an optimistic note about the party’s prospects. “Today, Ramsharan Nautiyal has joined the Congress party. I welcome him into the fold. We are confident that his presence will bolster the Congress party,” he said, adding that the organisation in Uttarakhand would draw strength from experienced hands as it prepares for the electoral battle.
Nautiyal’s political career spans nearly two and a half decades. He entered active politics in 2000 and remained with the Congress until 2014, during which period he served as chairman of the Dehradun District Panchayat. He subsequently joined the BJP and spent close to twelve years in the party’s ranks, rising to prominence in the Garhwal region.
In the 2022 Uttarakhand assembly elections, the BJP fielded him from the Chakrata constituency, but he lost the contest. His relationship with the party soured thereafter. Earlier this month, Nautiyal resigned from the BJP, alleging that he had been humiliated by senior leaders and denied due respect within the organisation. He pointedly blamed the state leadership under party president Mahendra Bhatt for the prevailing atmosphere.
The timing of his switch is politically significant. With the Uttarakhand assembly polls scheduled for early 2027, both the Congress and the BJP have begun mobilising their ranks. Nautiyal’s entry gives the Congress a recognisable face from the Chakrata region, an area where the party has been looking to consolidate its position against the BJP’s sitting strength.
Political observers in Dehradun say the development could have a ripple effect in the Garhwal belt, where Nautiyal retains a network of workers and supporters built over two decades in public life. The BJP, for its part, has yet to offer an official reaction to his departure and induction into the rival camp.
Meanwhile, singer Jubin Nautiyal, one of Bollywood’s most sought-after playback voices, has not issued any public comment on his father’s political move. The singer has generally kept his distance from electoral politics, and there has been no indication that he intends to involve himself in the developments.
For the Congress, which is seeking to wrest power in Uttarakhand after successive defeats, every induction of this kind is being positioned as evidence of momentum. Whether Nautiyal’s return translates into votes on the ground will only become clear once the campaign for the 2027 elections gathers pace.
