GURGAON: Kulbhushan Bharadwaj, who led repeated protests against namaz being offered in public places in the city, was elected president of the District Bar Association Friday. Bharadwaj, a long-time associate of RSS and its affiliates, defeated Vinod Rao by 244 votes.Bharadwaj polled 1,834 votes against Rao’s 1,590 in a six-way contest. A total of 4,963 votes were counted. His victory also ended the prolonged dominance of Yadav candidates in the Bar president’s post, where community mobilisation had traditionally played a key role.Bharadwaj has been associated with several contentious lawyer protests. During an anti-namaz agitation in 2021, an FIR was registered after he allegedly led a rally on an excavator, carrying a sword, through Sadar Bazaar. He later joined lawyers protesting against judicial officer Roopam over alleged misbehaviour. The agitation saw Bharadwaj and others lock the court gate and disrupt proceedings.His election campaign also drew support from RSS and affiliated organisations, which urged members to vote for him, according to people familiar with the mobilisation.The election came amid recurring friction between lawyers and judges in the city. Bharadwaj said his priority would be to improve relations and court infrastructure. “I will try to live up to the expectation of the members and stress on improving coordination between judges and lawyers and work to improve the infrastructure inside the court premises,” he said.Manish Shandilya, general secretary of Adhivakta Parishad Gurgaon and a senior Bar member, said the new body must bridge the divide. “We hope the new body will ensure coordination between Bar and Bench and take along everyone irrespective of their affiliation,” he said. He added that lawyers must receive due respect when they raise concerns. Bharadwaj’s 244-vote margin gave him a clear mandate in a contest involving six candidates, but his election also puts the focus on whether the new leadership can ease long-running tensions inside the district court.
